Pre chapter Note: The winner of the poll for the next pokemon that Grey catches is Charmander , Charcadet was a close second , followed by ninetales/torkoal option surpringly a lot of people did ask for a volcarona but unfortunately not only is it a very rare pokemon it would take a long while for it too evolve and already a lot of Grey's are either dependent on stones or like axew will take time , that being said really appreciate the interest shown in the polls , will do more polls regarding things in the future chapters also I have experimented with something which will be mentioned post chapter that being said enjoy:
(Grey's POV)
The second floor of the Pokémon Tower serves as a grim repetition of the first, though the air here feels visibly heavier.
The resistance is tougher; these aren't just street thugs with stray Zubats. I encounter Raticates—larger, meaner, and more resilient than their pre-evolutions. A few of them even survive a direct Rock Smash from Axew, who has developed a frightening level of proficiency with the move after hammering through the earlier squads.
On the fly, we have developed a cohesive group fighting structure. Axew acts as the vanguard, targeting the Rattata and Raticate lines that seem to make up 70% of the Rocket squads.
If Axew's initial strike doesn't finish them, Meowth mirrors his movement, darting in to pick off the weakened targets with clinical precision. Shellder maintains the sky, its Icicle Spears puncturing the wings of Zubat swarms, while Exeggcute uses Confusion to seize the rare Koffing, utilizing its superior type advantage to crush them before they can detonate or release a Smokescreen.
I even spot a stray Doduo and a Drowzee among the Rocket ranks—odd choices that become easy pickings for the Night Slash duo of Axew and Meowth.
After clearing the floor, I move with a mechanical coldness. We heal, we tie up the grunts, and we free the remaining citizens.
Their faces are haunted. They whisper that the "Boss" of this operation is on the floor above, personally handling Mr. Fuji. My heart hammers against my ribs, but I force myself to move cautiously toward the stairs.
(Third Person POV):
The atmosphere on the third floor is different. The fog here is thick with the scent of ozone and the copper tang of blood. In the center of the chamber, the ancient Mr. Fuji stands defiant, his clothes singed and face grimy. Beside him, a Marowak stands guard, its bone club trembling but held firm, while a spectral Haunter flickers in and out of existence, hissing at the shadows.
Opposite them stands a man draped in a high-ranking Rocket uniform, his eyes glinting with a sociopathic boredom. This is Petrel. He is flanked by a massive, obsidian-shaded Arbok and a twitching, predatory Crobat. Surrounding them, grunts hold several citizens at gunpoint, their Pokémon snarling at the trembling hostages.
"Just quietly come with us, old man," Petrel drawls, his voice slicing through the silence like a rusted blade. "Lest you want me to kill your Pokémon and these stupid citizens my grunts have so graciously captured."
Fuji's voice is a cracked roar. "Never! I am not joining back. I will not help you guys stabilize that... that monstrosity!"
"Your consent isn't required," Petrel sneers. "I can knock you out and take you by force. Crobat, Wing Attack the Marowak! Arbok, Poison Fang the Haunter!"
The Crobat's wings glow with a blinding white light as it dives like a kamikaze pilot toward the Marowak. Simultaneously, the massive Arbok—darker than any of its species should be—coils and lunges. Its fangs drip with a viscous, purple toxin. In a split-second tactical shift, the Arbok abandons the Poison Fang mid-air, snapping its jaws shut into a Bite attack, seeking the super-effective crunch against the Ghost-type.
"Marowak, Stone Edge! Haunter, Shadow Ball!" Fuji screams.
The floor erupts. Jagged pillars of stone burst from the foundation, forcing the Crobat to weave erratically, while a sphere of concentrated darkness slams into the Arbok's chest, skidding the giant snake backward. The back-and-forth is violent and desperate. Fuji is fighting for the lives of the innocent; Petrel is fighting for sport.
"Enough of this," Petrel snaps, his boredom turning into irritation. He signals the grunts. "Kill the hostages if he moves again."
Fuji wavers, his focus fracturing. "Haunter, use Hex! Block the grunts!"
In that moment of fractured concentration, the world slows down. Petrel doesn't reach for a Pokéball. He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a sleek, black handgun.
Crack.
The sound is deafening in the hollow stone tower. There is no flash of elemental energy, no "fainting" light. The Marowak, who had stepped forward to shield its master, jerks violently. A small, dark hole appears in the center of its skull. It doesn't cry out. It simply collapses, its bone club clattering onto the floor with a hollow, final thud.
The silence that follows is absolute.
"No... nononono... NO! MAROWAK!" Fuji falls to his knees, his hands hovering over the cooling body of his partner. He is washed in grief, his soul seemingly breaking in real-time.
Petrel doesn't even blink. He raises the gun again, aiming it directly at the grieving old man's head. "Pointless sentiment. Crobat, finish him while he's down. Wing Attack."
The Crobat shrieks, diving for the kill. Fuji looks up, the shadow of the bat growing over his face, only to see a barrage of shimmering blue ice lances tear through the fog.
Grey's POV
My mind is a white-hot void.
I had just reached the landing of the third floor when the shot rang out. I saw it. I saw the life leave that Marowak's eyes. I saw the cold, casual way that man murdered a living being. In that second, the "game" died. The rules died. My fear, which had been a constant companion since I entered Lavender, was incinerated by a roar of pure, unadulterated rage. My flight-or-fight response didn't just choose fight—it chose to destroy.
"Shellder! Icicle Spear the Crobat's wings! Cripple it for good!" I roar, my voice sounding like a stranger's. "Exeggcute, Confusion! Hold that bat in place! Axew, Night Slash that Arbok! Meowth, Night Slash the wings! Tear it down!"
The air ripples as Exeggcute's psychic grip slams into the diving Crobat, freezing it mid-air. Petrel's eyes widen as he turns to see a kid standing there with a team radiating pure killing intent. Before he can utter a command, a barrage of Icicle Spears slams into the Crobat's left wing, the sound of breaking cartilage sickeningly audible. Meowth follows up instantly, a blur of dark energy pouncing onto the bat and dislocating the wing entirely with a savage Night Slash.
The Crobat falls like a stone, twitching on the floor. The Arbok tries to intervene, but a green-and-crimson streak—Axew—slams into its side. The Night Slash is massive, fueled by the residual energy of his Dragon Dances, sending the giant snake skidding across the room.
Third Person POV
Petrel stares at the downed Crobat, then coldly recalls it. "Useless. It's a good thing this operation was just a trial round for you. You aren't staying on my team. I'll be disposing of you or giving you to a grunt."
He turns his gaze to Grey, his expression twisting into a mocking grin. "You think you're a hero, brat? Too bad. You're dying here. Unless... your skills are impressive. To take out crobat that quickly? You have talent. Join Team Rocket, and I might forget you attacked me. Otherwise, I'll rip this threat out of the bud before it grows."
Grey's face is set in stone. "In no universe would I join someone who can end a life in a heartbeat. I'd rather die."
"I can arrange that," Petrel says, leveling the gun at Grey's chest.
Snap.
Petrel screams as his wrist suddenly twists at an impossible angle. The gun clatters to the floor. Exeggcute is glowing with a violent, pulsating pink light, its eyes fixed on Petrel's arm with terrifying focus.
"Argh! Dammit! Arbok, end them! Nidoking, out!" Petrel fumbles with his other hand, releasing a massive, armored Nidoking that roars with a deep, vibrating bass.
The Arbok lunges for Axew, its mouth wide, when a pillar of fire erupts from the side, incinerating the air between them.
"Step aside, Grey!"
Derek has arrived. He stands at the top of the stairs, his Charizard letting out a deafening roar that shakes the tower. "He's too strong for you, kid. Let me handle this. It comes under my job resume anyway!"
Behind him, a wave of police officers floods the floor. Growlithes and Weepinbells swarm the remaining grunts, and the room turns into a chaotic battlefield. Grey wants to argue, to stay and finish what he started, but Derek's voice is authoritative, the voice of a professional.
Petrel tries to rally, but Derek is a machine. His Charizard and Sandslash coordinate with a level of mastery that makes Petrel's Arbok look like a beginner. The snake is pelted by Flamethrowers and Earthquakes, pushed to the very brink of fainting. Realizing the tide has turned, Petrel recalls his bruised Arbok and releases a Hypno.
"Teleport! Now!" Petrel commands.
"Not so fast," Derek exclaims. "Wobbuffet, go!"
A blue, blob-like Pokémon lands on the floor. Its tail glows, and a heavy, oppressive energy fills the room. Shadow Tag. The Hypno's psychic energy sputters and dies—the teleport fails.
"What?!" Petrel screams.
"You aren't running," Derek says.
The Hypno tries a desperate Psychic attack, but Wobbuffet takes the hit head-on, its body glowing with a shimmering veil. Mirror Coat. The energy is returned with double the power, blasting the Hypno back into its trainer.
Across the room, the police lift a sobbing, exhausted Mr. Fuji to his feet. Grey, meanwhile, is a whirlwind of fury. He is demolishing the remaining grunts, but his orders are no longer tactical—they are ruthless. He directs Axew and Shellder to aim for the grunts' Pokémon with a ferocity that borders on cruelty, venting every ounce of his rage into the battle.
Desperate, Petrel orders a Smokescreen, and for a second, the room vanishes in grey soot. When Derek's Charizard clears the air with a Whirlwind, the side of the tower has been blasted open. Petrel is visible in the distance, shrinking into the fog on the back of a Fearow.
"You aren't getting away!" Derek shouts, leaping onto his Charizard and taking off into the misty sky in pursuit.
The battle finally stills. The grunts are tied up, their stolen goods recovered. The silence returns to the third floor, but it's different now—stained by the memory of the shot.
Grey feels the adrenaline drain out of him all at once. His legs give way, and he sinks to the cold stone floor, his back against a headstone. He looks upward into the swirling violet fog, deciding he hated pokemon that could see the future .
Authors Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I have tried to write it using a third pov if u guys prefer this style while use it whenever I can if possible , else will stick to the style before, or use third Pov only sometimes during battles if I feel the chapter requires it
Some thoughts: Grey couldnt have handled the arbok or nidoking , the crobat was like a level 30 pokemon if i had to quantify and Greys current team is around that as well , the Arbok and his other pokemon are at a much higher level
I have taken creative liberty to alter the events at Lavender Tower to suit the fic , it is not what happens in the manga , also if you guys realised it by now , grey is kind of doing this manga event but because his route is different he arrives before the events of the ghost of marowak even happens and he witness the event itself , this is a small spoiler egg from me rest you can figure out what I was planning in the next arc
Also is the tone decent or is it too dark, you can express in the comment section. I feel I could have done better but this was the chapter hope everyone liked it
Also some of the fire types you guys mentioned while not in greys team might feature in the fic