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!
What's going on, readers? Last chapter Gray barely made it past her second round opponent, and she's now in the top 16! This chapter will be a lot shorter than the previous two, due to me not wanting to give any one Pokemon more battles than the others, so that will be a fairly quick read. Afterwards, there'll be a fair amount of interaction between Gray and her rivals. Also, I should be posting the next two chapters within three or four hours of this, so review and be ready! Now, let's get going!
ShadowDragon9000: That is very true, which is why I think Kalos was probably the best story with this being the second. And I really like fighting types (at least writing about them) because they're able to be used so aggressively and fight like people would, and this round is the top 16. No pressure felt, btw. The next chapter is 10,000 words, so I think that speaks in and of itself
Trentavious Phoenix: Major storylines (Team Purity) will be concluded in Johto, as will Mewtwo. Trent definitely is the favorite to win their specific quarter of the bracket and one of the favorites to win the tournament, so he'll be a really tough challenge for Gray if she manages to win and face him
Defender31415: Yeah, I've been making these a lot closer than usual, and I thought about having Gray lose to one of her rivals in this round, but I didn't like that idea. And Leviculus won't be out for any battles or hampered when he does compete, it was just a means of showing off how strong he was, and the original idea was to have Gray use Comis in one of these battles, but I ditched that
Blaze Falcon: I think people forget/forgot how Leviculus basically carried the team through the first two or three badges of the story, and I didn't give him as much attention as he should've received, but at least he can make up for it in the Indigo League! He'll be ready to go in his next battle, assuming Gray gets to the next round, and the only other leg injury was Krookodile, while Infernape hurt his shoulder (I believe). Hopefully Gray can win this battle!
Gray's team
Durus, (f), level 47, Power Gem, Feint Attack, Bite, Metal Claw, Pay Day*, Slash* - (Persian)
Leviculus, (m), level 46, Water Gun, Dig, Rain Dance, Body Slam, Mega Kick*, Ice Punch* - (Politoed)
Fidens, (m), level 45, 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)
"I still don't get why Gray made me sit up here. I want to be down there where all the action is!" Comis shouted before crossing his arms over his chest and pouting like a little kid. "I didn't do anything to deserve this."
"Comis, you're not up here because you're in trouble," Tara informed the ground and flying type, who tilted his head in confusion. "Gray said she wanted you to know what it feels like to be a spectator and have some fun rather than being all stressed out down there."
Comis' face lit up at the information, and he looked down at the battlefield before cheering for Gray obnoxiously, which the girl heard. She waved back in an attempt to shut her Pokemon up, but that only made Comis louder, which caused Gray, Tara, and Chase to sweat drop. They all turned their attention back to the battlefield, however, when the referee stepped forwards and raised her arms in the air.
"This will be a best of three battle between Gray Plain of Saffron City, and Rock Stone of Pewter City! Both sides may use a Pokemon more than once, but substitution is forbidden! Trainers, choose your Pokemon!"
"Decorus, come on out!" Gray shouted while tossing her first Pokeball.
The spherical device opened and revealed the shiny Pokemon, who elegantly landed on the ground and began to twirl before waiting for her opponent to be revealed.
"Come on out, Quagsire!"
Decorus rolled her eyes at the sight of her idiotic opponent, who densely stared at the ground and began laughing stupidly. Durus laughed at Decorus' reaction, and so did Gray, though she did a much better job of concealing her laughter.
"This battle will be between Decorus and Quagsire! Begin!"
"Decorus, start this off with Grassy Terrain!" Gray commanded while pointing at the sky.
Without hesitation, Decorus pointed her arms straight upwards and began to hum lowly. Suddenly, a ball of blazing hot energy shot into the air and exploded. Bits and pieces of the energy struck the ground, which led to the battlefield being covered in grass and flowers, which made Quagsire shudder while Decorus seemed to enjoy the change.
"Destroy all of the flowers with Earthquake!" Rock ordered while stomping on the ground as if he was able to use the attack.
Quagsire did the same thing as his trainer and slammed his tail against the ground as powerfully as he could, causing the stadium to shake slightly. Suddenly, columns of dirt shot out of the ground and began to destroy Grassy Terrain while heading towards Decorus, who waited for Gray to give her a command, which she did after thinking of the perfect counterattack.
"Use Vine Whip to push yourself into the air, and then use Magical Leaf!"
Decorus didn't hesitate to perform the actions, as the Earthquake attack was closing in on her. Two vines appeared from Decorus' neck and they pushed against the ground, sending the shiny Pokemon into the air and out of the reach of Earthquake. Decorus then started spinning like a top and waves of rainbow colored leaves cut through the air and began to slash Quagsire, who cried out in pain while Rock tried to think of a way to keep his Pokemon from getting injured.
"Quagsire, use Muddy Water!"
The water and ground type smiled as he lifted his arms upwards. Much to Gray's dismay, murky water appeared and Quagsire jumped from the top of the wave as it began to crash towards Decorus, who didn't look fazed by the disgusting body of water headed towards her. Gray shared the same calm demeanor and smiled at Durus before looking back up and clearing her throat.
"Turn it back with Psychic, Decorus!"
Decorus slowly lifted her right arm and pointed at the wall of water as her eyes flashed light blue. Suddenly, the water stopped and had a line of blue energy surround it. Rock and the rest of the red stadium stared in disbelief as Decorus hurled the water back at Quagsire, who was swept into the wall behind his trainer forcefully, making him grunt loudly before falling on his face.
"Hang in there, Quagsire! Put Decorus to sleep with Yawn!" Rock shouted desperately, trying to think of a way to prevent Decorus from attacking.
Quagsire opened his mouth and yawned obnoxiously, making Decorus yawn along with Durus, who laid down and began to close her eyes. Noticing the exhausted look on her Pokemon's face thanks to the scoreboard, Gray bit her lower lip and spoke up as soon as she knew what to do.
"Fight through it and use Petal Blizzard, Decorus!"
With a tired grin, Decorus stuck her arms directly out to her sides and was enveloped in a tornado of pink leaves. Before Gray could say anything else, Decorus zipped forwards while spinning, and the pressure shifted back to Rock and his Quagsire, who glanced at each other before Rock issued a stupid command.
"Don't back down! Use Slam!"
Quagsire attempted to match Decorus' power, but was overwhelmed thanks to Grassy Terrain boosting the strength of all grass type attacks. Decorus slammed Quagsire into the ground forcefully and the battlefield began to crack underneath the impact, but the fairy type let up when she felt she had done enough damage to her opponent. Surprisingly, Quagsire rose to his feet and locked eyes with Decorus, who grinned at the resilient Pokemon. Gray, however, didn't look at the ailing opponent, and issued another attack.
"Let's finish this with Moonblast!"
Nodding, Decorus placed her hands together and formed an orb of pink energy with a stern look on her face. Shortly afterwards, Decorus threw both of her arms forwards and a zigzagging blast of pink energy zipped across the battlefield and exploded on contact with Quagsire, sending him flying into the air before he landed on the ground headfirst, which knocked him out cold.
"Quagsire is unable to battle! Gray has taken the first match!" the referee shouted as one of the boxes next to Gray's picture lit up.
"I'm surprised Decorus looked so sharp out there. She hasn't gotten a lot of practice in the past week or so," Tara said while looking over at Scyther, who shook his head in response.
"Practice doesn't matter if you're as strong as she is. Battles just come naturally to Pokemon like that, while some others have to get into a rhythm of sorts to be able to perform to the best of their abilities."
"Really? I never knew that," Chase said to the bug sitting next to him.
"He's right. Even though we're made for this battling stuff, it's not like all of us can just turn it on instantly," Audino informed her trainer while Musharna, who was sitting next to her, nodded emphatically.
"Yup! It's kind of like humans and working out. If you don't do it often, it's pretty hard to just get back into the swing of things, but there are some people out there who can do that. Pokemon are like that, too."
Meanwhile, down on the battlefield, Gray was clapping for Decorus and smiling alongside Durus, who had woken from her nap as soon as Quagsire was defeated.
"Awesome job, Decorus! Why don't you take a break?" Gray asked while motioning for her Pokemon to come to her side.
"Alright, but if it goes to a third match, I'm going out there, no matter what," Decorus informed Gray, who laughed and nodded in response.
With that, Decorus sat down and rested next to Durus while Gray took out a different Pokeball and enlarged it. Both Durus and Decorus seemed to know who was going to be revealed, judging by the confident look on Gray's face, and they grinned when their guesses were right.
"Fortis, I choose you!" Gray shouted while releasing her strongest Pokemon from his Pokeball. A blast of fire shot out of the Pokeball as Fortis roared upon materializing, and he landed on the ground while the crowd began whispering about his strength, making Gray giggle along with Durus and Decorus.
"Noivern, I'm counting on you!" Rock shrieked as he opened his second Pokeball, which revealed a bat that had enormous ears sticking straight out of its head. The two dragon type Pokemon locked eyes and began growling at each other at an inaudible pitch, while Comis rose from his seat and began snapping his claws energetically.
"Come on, Fortis! Show this chump you're the stronger dragon type!"
Hearing Comis' comment, Fortis sweat dropped along with Gray and her two other Pokemon, but they quickly regained their composure and eyed their opponents on the other side of the battlefield.
"This battle will be between Fortis and Noivern Begin!"
"Use Dragon Pulse at full power, Noivern!" Rock commanded aggressively.
Noivern flapped his wings powerfully and shot into the air, prompting Fortis to do the same. The bat then opened his mouth and fired a multicolored ray of energy that took the shape of a dragon. Seeing the power behind the attack, Gray was forced to think quickly on her feet while Fortis remained calm and waited for his trainer's orders.
"Counter it with Dragon Breath, Fortis!" Gray shouted, prompting Fortis to rear his head back and unleash a wave of green fire, which collided with the dragon-shaped beam of energy and exploded. "Now get in close and use Dragon Claw!" With a powerful flap of his wings, Fortis sped through the air while the nails on his fingers began to grow and glow with neon energy.
"Stop Fortis from attacking by using Bite on his arm!" Rock countered tactically.
Noivern headed straight towards Fortis, who wound his arm back, and he lunged forwards to bite the Flygon's other arm. Fortis roared in pain as Noivern chomped down on his right arm, but he continued his attack and slashed the bat with his left hand, making Noivern grunt in pain.
"Fortis, keep it up and use Boomburst!"
Fortis grinned before pointing his head towards the air and opening his mouth. Suddenly, he flapped his wings as hard as he could and screamed shortly afterwards, creating rings of golden energy that smashed into Noivern and exploded on contact, sending him crashing into the ground in front of Rock. The teen eyed his Pokemon in shock before sighing in relief when Noivern rose to his feet, albeit slowly.
"Time to confuse 'em! Fire away with Supersonic!"
Noivern grinned and the large ears on his head began to emit rings of orange energy, which spun towards Fortis. The dragon type quickly descended and avoided the first set of sound before being overwhelmed by the massive amount of rings headed towards him. Lucky for Fortis, Gray was there to step in and save the day.
"Fortis, blast through it with Hyper Beam!"
Smirking, Fortis obeyed his command. The dragon and ground type quickly reared his head back and orange particles of light began to form in the shape of a ball. Once it reached a substantial size, Fortis whipped his neck downwards and fired a beam of orange energy straight through the Supersonic attack. Noivern was too slow to react to the speed of Fortis' Hyper Beam, and was clobbered as a result, though he managed to get back up once again.
"Noivern, use a max power Hurricane!" Rock demanded while stomping on the ground, clearly flustered by the power of his opponent and her Pokemon.
"Match him with a max power Boomburst, Fortis!" Gray commanded, not wanting to waste any more time with the ongoing battle.
While Noivern began to whip his wings as hard as he could, Fortis raised his face to the air and did the same. Wicked winds began to cut Fortis' body, but he fought through the pain and began to flap his wings faster and faster before finally looking down and screaming at the top of his lungs. Blades of golden energy sliced through the winds and exploded when they hit Noivern, sending him into the wall behind Rock and into an unconscious state.
"Noivern is unable to battle! Gray, is the winner, and will be advancing to the quarterfinals!" the referee shouted while pointing at Gray and the three Pokemon with her.
Immediately, all four began to celebrate, but they were whisked off the battlefield and into the trainer room, where they resumed their celebrations.
"Come on out, everyone!" Gray shouted while tossing three other Pokeballs into the air. Magna, Leviculus, and Fidens appeared with cheerful looks on their faces, and they nearly exploded with happiness when they saw that their teammates had just won.
"So we're headed to the top 8, right?" Magna inquired as she looked at the results of Gray's first three battles.
"That's right," Durus replied with a slight grin. "There're only three people standing between us and a championship, and I'm not ready to lose now that we've come this far!" Durus announced, making everyone cheer while Gray giggled at the rowdy bunch of Pokemon standing before her.
"Congrats on the win, everyone!" Chase and Tara shouted in unison as they walked into the room with their Pokemon and Comis, who quickly flew over to the others and began to celebrate.
"Thanks, guys. It's good to know we have some support out in the crowd," Gray said, making her friends laugh.
"No problemo," Chase replied before sitting down near Gray's Pokemon and talking with them. "So now that you have a day off tomorrow, what do you say we go out and have some fun?"
"That sounds awesome! We should totally do that, Gray!" Tara exclaimed. "After all, you and the others could use a break from the whole league thing," the blonde pointed out as all of Gray's Pokemon except Durus and Fortis were yawning and laying down in exhaustion, which made Gray giggle.
"Alright, that sounds like fun! Let's do it!"
000
"I thought this was supposed to be a night of fun?" Gray muttered while laying on the couch, watching highlights of the Indigo League.
The plan was to go out and have a good time, and kick back while trying to take her mind off of the Indigo League, but Chase somehow managed to get sick after eating some bad sushi he got from a sketchy vendor on the way to the stadium, so now the night was ruined. At least, that's what Gray thought until she heard a couple of knocks on the door to her apartment. When she opened it, Sammy and Tracey walked in along with Gray's mother and Billy, all of whom stared at the living space in shock.
"This place is huge! You could fit our entire floor in the apartments in here!" Sammy exclaimed, drawing a few laughs.
"Yeah, I didn't know you were living so well, Gray. If I had, I would've come sooner!" the girl's mother announced, making Gray shake her head before hopping back on the couch and watching highlights of the day. Both Marcus and Savannah won their battles, and Trentavious' was nearing its end, as he had a commanding lead. Gray sighed again as her big day out was a flop, but she stopped when Comis flew off the top step and landed on her head with a smile.
"I know you said no before, but can I battle soon? All of the others got to, and I want a shot!" the young Pokemon shouted pleadingly while hopping off his trainer's head and landing on the couch.
"Sorry, Comis, but you're going to have to wait until you get a lot of experience. We haven't been in a battle together and, to be honest, I'm kind of nervous about that," Gray told her Pokemon, who slouched over dejectedly. "Don't worry, I know you're going to get your shot sooner or later!"
"You mean it?"
"Cross my heart."
Comis nodded with a bright grin before leaping forwards and hugging Gray, making the others smile. Once they broke, Comis sprung off the couch and began to glide around the room excitedly while the six other Pokemon walked out of Gray's room. Before they could sit down, Billy ran over to Fortis' and Leviculus' sides while smiling at them.
"Those poor guys," Fidens muttered while shaking his head after sitting down across from Gray and everyone else in the room. "So, have we found out who we're gonna battle?"
"Not yet, but we should be finding out pretty soon," Gray replied, not remembering the way the bracket had been set up. "It doesn't matter, though, because we'll show 'em just how strong we are."
"Wooh! Let's crush them!" Magna screamed bloodthirstily, which made everyone scoot away from the tiny psychic type. "Oh, that wasn't supposed to be that loud." Magna giggled shortly afterwards, but the rest of the people in the room still felt uneasy.
Gray changed the channel on the TV as a way to break the awkwardness, and she quickly found herself staring at a flashing picture, which was the sign for breaking news. The girl then turned the volume up, and stared silently along with the others.
"With the third round battles concluding, it's time to unveil the bracket and see who will be facing who!" Red, who was sitting behind a desk, shouted before turning and pointing.
The screen flashed once again and changed to display a miniature bracket with just eight trainers and three rounds remaining. Gray found her picture with no problem, and she scowled as soon as her opponent was revealed.
"Trentavious," Durus whispered to herself dramatically as she glared at the boy's picture.
"Hey, that's the guy from Pallet Town!" Sammy shouted, remembering when she had nearly gotten into a fight with the powerful trainer. "You better beat him, Gray!"
"Don't put that kind of pressure on her, stupid," Tracey ordered before punching her sister in the arm, making Sammy wince in pain before rubbing the injured part of her body. "She's right, though, Gray. You better mop the floor with that guy."
After her friends, mother, and little brother gave hours of advice and left the apartment, Gray decided to take her Pokemon out to the balcony at the back of the living space. Once they were all settled into their chairs, Gray stood in the middle of the Pokemon and cleared her throat before speaking.
"As you all know, we're facing Trentavious tomorrow in a full battle. If we win, we're moving on to the semifinals, and if we lose, we're out of the league. I know we beat him the last time we battled back in the Saffron City Tournament, but with the way he's been doing in the league, it's safe to say Trent's gotten a lot stronger," Gray started, looking at each of her Pokemon, who nodded in response. "Leviculus, how do you feel about starting? Is your leg all healed up?"
"Yup. I'm ready to go!" the water type replied before his teammates began shoving him around playfully, making Gray smile slightly.
"As for the rest of you, there's no order in which you'll go. Now let's make sure to give it our all!"
"Right!" all of the Pokemon cheered in unison.
Wooh! Gray won that battle comfortably and now she's facing off with Trentavious in what should be a really, really tough battle (10,000+ words, people). This will definitely be the best battle in the story, and I'm hoping y'all will enjoy it. Till next time, peace out.
Next Chapter "Fighting to the Fullest": Now in the quarterfinals, Gray gets her long awaited duel with Trentavious. With a spot in the semifinals on the line, Gray pulls out all the stops. Not to be outdone, Trentavious turns to an incredibly powerful Pokemon and unleashes its true power. Will Gray be able to knock off the one seed and advance to the final four?
Indigo League Arc (Titles to be revealed)
Chapter 63: ?
Chapter 64: ?
Chapter 65: ?