Derek Fray

Derek Fray (full name Derek Angus Fray and often nicknamed "Torch") is a fictional character who appears in the All My Pocket Monsters series. He is the main protagonist and a world-class Pokémon Trainer.

Biography
By the time Derek Fray was born, his biological father had been killed in a wild Pokémon attack (this event proves to have serious repercussions for his mother, who later joins the anit-Pokémon movement). Derek was born in Pastoria City, Sinnoh, to his mother, Gladys; he also has a younger brother, Flynn Fray. Due to their differing views on Pokémon, Derek and Gladys have always endured a strained, troublesome relationship and Derek finds it difficult to obtain emotional support from her. However, Derek has remained extremely close to his brother Flynn.

Although he manages to secure a scholarship to the exclusive Sinnoh Pokémon Academy, an incident in his junior grade causes the school to be set alight. He is immediately expelled, but is invited to study privately under Professor Oak after the older man witnesses his raw skill at a school battle. This opens up many new opportunities for Derek, as he is able to complete his formal education in order to obtain his Trainer's license. He develops a close personal relationship with Professor Oak, accepting him into his life as the father figure he had longed for as a child.

Once he is eighteen, Derek undertakes the Registration Exams, a notoriously gruelling series of aptitude and physical tests. He passes the Exams with flying colors and, with his Trainer's licence finally secure, spends two years travelling through the Regions in order to capture and train Pokémon. He also enters various League Competitions after obtaining the necessary badges, the most notable of which is the Indigo League, in which he is placed fifth. Shortly after receiving his Trainer's licence he meets the Saffron City Gym owner, Allen Green and, after a brief misunderstanding, the two become firm friends. He also meets his girlfriend (and later fiancee), Alice Hargrove. The two purchase an isolated country home in Floaroma, Sinnoh, in which they live. Some time later Allen also moves into the house.

Derek is delighted to learn that his brother, Flynn, possesses the same appreciation for Pokémon that Derek himself carries and invites him to stay with them in Floaroma in order to hone his talents outside of their mother's constant disapproval.

Derek is twenty-three at the start of the series.

Season One
Derek begins season one by planning to attend his brother's graduation ceremony. However, he is conflicted by the unexpected arrival of Allen, whom he has not heard from in three years. He is further disgruntled by Allen's new wife, Deirdre. Like Alice, he is horrified by their news that Johto is permanently outlawing Training.

Derek is present during the attack on the Academy during the graduation battle and, in the second episode, is forced to battle both Val and Van. Despite the obvious mistrust between them, he calls on Allen for assistance in the battle and they ultimately win. During the battle it is revealed that Allen and Derek's friendship was destroyed when Allen tried to kill him without explanation three years prior. He is deeply confused when Allen states that he is going to die shortly.

In the third episode, “Exposure”, Derek is sought out by Esme, who asks him to find her missing brother, Saul. Derek refuses, turning the matter over to Professor Oak and causing the first of many disagreements with Alice. There is little time to fight, though, as Derek is contacted by Val directly, who implies that he is at Gladys' house. Derek flies there on Charizard, panicked, only to find his mother brutally slain and is suitably heartbroken. He suffers through her consequential funeral in silence, plagued by guilt, and travels to Saffron City in order to ask Allen for help. Though Allen is surprised he agrees to help, relieving Derek somewhat. He is in Saffron City when their house is attacked and is therefore not present during the fire.

Forced to flee to Professor Oak's, Derek has his first Arceus-centric dream and, due to a combination of exhaustion, guilt, anger and hurt, demands that Oak lead him to Ash Ketchum, as Derek believes him to be the only one capable of defeating Team Rocket once and for all. During this visit he is besieged by Officer Jennys, who blame him for a spate of recent high-profile killings. Derek is forced to go on the run with everyone and seek out Ash Ketchum. He is puzzled by the continuous appearance of Arceus in his dreams, and somehow obtains the Fire Stone in his sleep.

Throughout the remaining episodes he discovers both the Rock Stone and the Flight Stone. He is given the Electric Stone by Allen.

During the hunt for Ash, Derek and Allen find themselves at constant odds, as Derek struggles to trust him after the damage Allen has caused. This is not at all helped by several revelations that suggest Allen has been working against them. Despite this, when they find Ash, it is Allen who suggests Derek try talking to him alone. This prompts the first real appearance of Arceus, leading Derek to declare Professor Elm their next target. With no clue on how to find the elusive man, he decides to rescue Saul after all, however it quickly becomes apparent that Saul is going to have to rescue him instead. But not before Derek discovers that Professor Elm is actually his biological father.

When Alice goes missing, Derek fights tooth and nail to find her. However, after she is horribly wounded and he discovers her pregnancy in the seventeenth episode, he breaks up with her and makes the choice to travel back to the Indigo Plateau with Saul and Moltres, where he declares a public war on Professor Elm. He also confronts Allen about his actions, including Allen's attempt to kill him, and learns that all of Allen's questionable acts were specifically done in order to keep Derek and Flynn safe. He is deeply moved to find that Allen had endured a torturous few years for him, and forgives him immediately.

This leads him on a chase in the underground laboratories, where he meets up with Flynn and is horrified to learn that Flynn is a humanoid clone of Mewtwo. He quickly overcomes this, begging Flynn to stay safe and apologizing for keep Val's true identity from him. Flynn provides him with the Water Stone and Deidre's Fight Stone.

To Derek's surprise, Professor Elm requests their final fight to be a classic Pokémon battle. Though he is limited on Pokémon, he holds up surprisingly well until his emotions get the better of him, causing him to badly misjudge a move. This causes him to be pierced through the heart with a Spike Cannon and he falls dead.

As Derek lies dying in the season finale he suffers a series of powerful hallucinations, mostly of his loved ones, particularly Flynn. He is then seemingly visited by Arceus himself, who states his faith in Derek's strength. Though Derek is overcome with emotion and physical pain, he is able to get back on his feet, discovering that Arceus has healed him. Despite Professor Elm's best efforts, he is unable to hurt Derek, who realizes that he is the one intended to destroy Team Rocket. This newfound belief in himself allows him to finally call upon Arceus himself, who then battles – and defeats – Professor Elm. Professor Elm challenges Derek to kill him for good; however Derek ultimately decides against it as he does not wish to commit murder under any circumstances, delivering him to Adele instead.

After Professor Elm has been arrested, Derek is seen attending Deirdre's memorial service with everyone. He is approached by Alice, who begs him to reconsider their break-up, but does not change his mind, stating that he cannot trust her at present.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Derek is last seen talking to Allen about a professional proposition.

Season Two
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none">In the season two opening episode, “No Mas”, it becomes apparent that Allen's proposition was for Derek to work with him at the Saffron City Gym. Derek has taken on the Assistant Director mantle, hosting defensive classes and also processing Trainers. He is revealed to be living at the Gym, and is shown to be good friends with Rebecca Pax. He makes frequent contact with Flynn. He is outraged to learn that Val has taken over the CEO position at Minecorp. He is surprised to learn that Allen had beseeched Professor Elm for Giovanni whereabouts, as like everyone he had assumed Giovanni to be dead. He is further thrown by Ash Ketchum's death in the second episode.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none">Ash's funeral reunites Alice and Derek for the first time since Deirdre's memorial service in the season one finale. Though it is clear Derek has no intention of rekindling their relationship, he does appear to carry feelings for her still. He is instrumental in fighting the Pacifiers off at the funeral. He is the only one to encourage Allen to accept the Pokémon Leagues Panel position. He is approached by Arceus in the episode “Nevermore”, who warns that a war is brewing and asks for Derek's help when the day comes. Confused but indebted, Derek reluctantly agrees.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none">Like everyone, he is stunned to discover all of the Legendary Pokémon have disappeared, including his own Moltres. Before he can help find them, he is thrust back in time along with Saul in order to see how Giovanni rose to power so many decades ago.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none">He is the first told about Saul's past work with Giovanni but, although unimpressed, makes it clear that he is not doubting his friend's intentions. With a clear threat in mind, he calls all of his friends together for the ultimate task: take down Giovanni, once and for all. He is the person called upon to help when it is discovered that Arceus is missing. Despite the world seeming to fall apart around him, Derek actively participates in the Indigo League Competition along with Allen and Flynn, while secretly orchestrating attacks on all of the companies associated with Galaxia Industries. He declares open war on both the Pacifiers and The Next Step, accusing the latter of martyring Flynn. Throughout the rest of the season, he is constantly inundated with horrifying nightmares of Giovanni and Team Rocket. This has an extreme effect on his mental health and general wellbeing.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none">Like everyone else, Derek is devastated when all Pokéballs across the region are suddenly unable to be opened or controlled. He feels the loss deeply, as he is unable to interact or communicate with his Pokémon, making him feel very helpless.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none">Derek loses the ninth round in the Indigo League Competition to his brother and is subsequently ranked eleventh. He seems unbothered by this, despite his higher ranking four years earlier. This is because he is so intently focused on destroying Val and Galaxia Industries that little else matters to him – his hunt for Val turns deadly when it becomes a desperate revenge trip and he is very nearly killed, but is saved at the last moment by Flynn. Snapped out of his rage by concern for his little brother, Derek agrees to stop obsessing over killing Val as Allen finally figures out how Giovanni is controlling everyone else's Pokéballs.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none">When Flynn is declared Public Enemy Number One by the Pacifiers in the episode, “Wanted”, due to his publicly-known genetic mutation, Derek makes it clear he will protect him at all costs, even at the risk of losing Arceus forever. This causes Arceus to appear, and he gives Derek information on how to find the missing Pokemon. With this, Derek is able to help Allen locate all of the remaining Legendary Pokémon. In the next episode, Derek and Alice get back together.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none">Derek asks Saul to “rally their troops” after Flynn is kidnapped and appeals to The Next Step for help. This leads him to nearly die once more as they turn on him and declare that they will fight the Pacifiers to obtain Flynn. Appearing desolate and out of options, Derek attends the public hanging of Flynn. However, this quickly turns out to be an act as Derek utilises Flynn's ability to control Pokémon, and then with their Pokéballs restored, leads the citizens of Saffron City in an all-out attack on both the Pacifiers and The Next Step.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none">This causes a raging battle that tears the city apart and takes place over the two final episodes. Derek proves to be invaluable during the battle, using his impressive Pokémon-handling skills to keep most of the citizens safe. He openly challenges Giovanni to appear and, when Giovanni finally appears, tries to use Arceus to kill him. However, Giovanni somehow captures Arceus in a Pokéball and disappears.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none">Knowing that they are in a losing battle and that Saffron City is done for, Derek realizes that the Pacifiers and The Next Step will not stop fighting until either of the parties have captured Flynn. With no other choice, he asks Saul to take Flynn into hiding, convinced it is the only way to protect him.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none">Derek is last seen in the season finale surrendering defeat to Galaxia Industries. He is knocked unconscious and taken captive.

Personality and Traits
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Born with natural leadership qualities, Derek is most disadvantaged by his own hotheaded impulsiveness. Known for being extremely brash, he has a tendency to rush into situations without considering the consequences, particularly when he is feeling desperate or panicked. He has a sharp sense of humor and is infamous for his outlandish pranks and general misbehaviour, though he becomes slightly more sombre throughout the series. This is most likely due to the gravity of the situations he finds himself in.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Derek is fiercely loyal to his friends and will go to any means necessary in order to protect them. Trust has proven to be a major bargaining chip with him and is used against him more often than not.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Although his intelligence is never questioned, a constant running joke in the series is his ignorance of facts that are common knowledge (for example, not realizing Flynn is gay despite everyone else being aware of it from the series' start, or not knowing that his own home city has a very large and obvious shopping mall). This leads to many humorous situations.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Even though he saves the world a number of times and has overcome many personal and professional obstacles, Derek retains very little faith in himself. This is considered unusual because of his seemingly cocky ego. It is possibly due to his deeply psychological guilt about the unavoidable death of so many of his loved ones, particularly his mother and Professor Oak.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">He has an extremely strong intuition and always believes his gut feeling over any other form of evidence. This causes many arguments between himself and his friends as it is not unusual for him to completely disregard a heavily-researched fact in favor of going with his gut instinct.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Derek is the character most likely to unintentionally break the fourth wall. Like other characters, he is frequently seen unknowingly quoting and/or making references to the original Pokémon anime series, an act which remains a running gag in All My Pocket Monsters.

Abilities
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Derek does not possess any particularly special skill-set; however he is very strong in a physical sense. He has been known to use forceful means to get what he needs and is often the first to throw a punch. Derek is very adept at hand-to-hand combat, but shows a distinct lack of any real technique, tending to rely on brute strength instead. He is a very fast runner and is fairly claustrophobic.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">He is very good at making combustive weapons from scratch. In the second season finale he builds a small explosive device, showing a talent for construction bombs.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Derek has been proven to be extremely adept at navigating. He is able to create and re-create maps from memory and has an acute sense of direction.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">A favorite in the Indigo League, Derek is considered an exemplary Trainer. He is a very aggressive battler, preferring to use big moves that cause instantaneous damage instead of drawing battles out. His true skill lies in his ability to fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of the battle terrain; he has made an art out of using his environment to his advantage. He has been shown to prefer ground fights to air, probably because the majority of his Pokémon are ground-dwelling. The limited range of his Pokémon (as they are almost all Fire-types) occasionally causes detriment to his battles, which has been known to stump him.

Family
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Derek's most prominent relationship is that with his brother, Flynn. They have been extremely close growing up and have always shown implicit trust in one another. Derek is notoriously over-protective of Flynn and, while he he gradually puts more faith in Flynn's ability to take care of himself, this does not fade throughout the series. He is shown making constant calls to Flynn when they are living in separate cities, often with exaggerated 'mother hen' antics, such as worrying over the state of Flynn's washing and demanding to know if he has been cutting his hair properly. His relationship with Flynn is not at all altered despite the discovery that, due to being a laboratory-bred clone, Flynn is not actually related to him in any way.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Although Flynn's talent with Pokémon grossly surpasses Derek's, he is never bitter or jealous about this and instead provides genuine encouragement and support. He has always been very defensive regarding accusations that Flynn cheated on his registration exams.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Although Derek has always been aware of his biological link to Val, he remains emotionally unattached to him, though he does take Val's allegiance with Team Rocket very personally. However, this is because he views it as a betrayal to their mother more than anything else. He becomes obsessed with destroying him in the second season, believing it will reconcile his relationship with their late mother. However, this quickly turns into a chaotic (and violent) revenge trip and is effectively halted by Flynn.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Similarly, his relationship with Professor Elm remains extremely antagonistic despite the discovery that Professor Elm is his father, with Derek showing no interest in a personal relationship. He has no remorse or hesitation in defeating Elm in the season one finale. He then verbally declares Professor Oak to be the only one he'd call father.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Derek's relationship with his mother has been dogged by dissent throughout his entire life. He is extremely upset when she dies, partly because he wishes he had repaired their connection and partly because of his own guilt at not telling her who Val truly is. He dreams of her frequently after her death but, with Flynn's help, eventually finds peace with her.

Friendships
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Prior to the series' start, Derek's best friend is Allen. However, during season one their friendship is plagued by mistrust due to Allen's attempt to kill him years earlier. Derek is constantly caught at crossroads with Allen, torn between his gut instinct to trust his previous friend, and the undeniable damage Allen had caused them. Late in the season, Allen proves that he has been protecting Derek and Flynn all along and the damage to their friendship is fully repaired. In the second season it is apparent that the two are best friends once more, working together at the Saffron City Gym. Their closeness remains untested for the remainder of episodes. Derek often relies on Allen for advice, particularly that of a professional nature.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Derek studied under Professor Gary Oak for three years, developing a lasting personal relationship that would continue long into the series. He considers Professor Oak a mentor and father figure. Professor Oak's death in the season one is a terrible blow to Derek.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Derek is relatively close to all other main characters, with the exception of Adele, with whom he never fully establishes a personal connection. This is because of their constant fighting in the first season and is at least partially due to Derek's own aversion to Jennys in general. In the second season their dislike for each other is watered down to a simple wariness. It is implied that he does not fully trust her, even after she turns her back on the Jennys to help him.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal">Derek is very close friends with Saul. Despite their unquestionable trust and camaraderie they are often shown bickering, though this seems to be done out of fun more than any actual hostility. However, neither of them pull any punches when their verbal spats get out of control. Derek is extremely defensive about Saul's history with Giovanni and trustworthiness, even threatening to break up with Alice if she mentions it again.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">He is shown to be good friends with Rebecca Pax after working side-by-side with her at the Saffron City Gym. They are often seen sharing meals, though their relationship is of a purely platonic nature.

Romantic Interests
Alice is Derek's consistent love interest throughout the series. Their relationship goes through many ups and downs throughout the series, causing them to spend much of the second season apart. The breakdown of their relationship can be largely attributed to the death of their unborn child in season one, and Derek's subsequent feelings of betrayal as Alice had lied about being pregnant in an earlier episode. It is widely believed they will not rekindle their relationship at all, with both showing signs of moving on.

By the season two finale they have re-established their relationship, as Derek admits to still loving her and vice-versa. However, he is often frustrated with her desire to settle down, as he feels no such desire. He appears bothered by the limitations of his relationship with Alice, most notably the constant need for him to control himself around her - at several points he hints at wanting to date someone he does not have to hold back on. Though he never talks to Alice about this, he is constantly vexed about it.

Throughout season two, it is suggested that he has feelings for Saul. He has told Allen that Saul is the only person Derek can be himself with and feels challenged by. This appears to cause him much distress, probably due to Saul being male. When Saul kisses him in the season finale, Derek noticeably hesitates before punching him.

In the second season, it is rumored that Derek is dating fellow Trainer, Rebecca Pax. However, this turns out to be tabloid gossip and entirely untrue.

Appearance
Derek is of average height and build. He is famed for his unruly fire-red mohawk, which does not change throughout the series, despite Alice's clear distaste for it. He has a number of tattoos, including a large tribal half-sleeve, a flame-decorated tattoo low on his stomach, a skull behind his right ear and small, miscellaneous markings. He has the official Pokéball symbol tattooed on his wedding finger of his right arm, noted for being his throwing arm. He also has an industrial piercing in his left ear and wears ear plugs during the episodes. He has been seen at random with a nose piercing.

Derek's battle uniform is the most frequently changed. Originally a unitard of sorts, throughout the series it has been altered at random. It was last depicted as a sleeveless red top over dark pants and combat boots. He is almost always shown wearing a bomber jacket and/or combat boots. His Pokéball symbol is emblazoned on the back of his battle jacket, though it is also depicted on various accessories. He wears a black ring on each finger of both hands at all times and is often seen wearing wrist cuffs.

Pokémon
Derek is considered somewhat of an unofficial expert in Fire-type Pokémon, with most of his line-up being first or secondary Fire-types. Other than Ash, he is the only person in the past fifty years to have command over Arceus, who is considered the creator of the universe. He is given one of the Legendary Birds, Moltres, by Allen in the first season. Though he never captures Heatran, he is able to dominate it in the season two finale and has also been shown commanding Ho-Oh, though this was done at Horace's request.

Derek has an obvious kinship with his (nameless) Charizard, who remains his most-used Pokémon throughout the series. It is explained that the Charizard was a gift from Allen. He is depicted as being close to all his Pokémon, but has been known to sacrifice them when necessary.

He has obtained all Type-Stones and is ranked the eleventh in the Indigo League during season two.

Derek's known Pokémon are: Moltres, Palkia, Rapidash, Dusknoir, Sableye, Slugma, Arceus, Blaziken, Flareon, Charizard, Dialga, Dragonair, Houndoom and Magmortar.

Arceus
Arceus has appeared to Derek a total of nine times and has battled for him thrice. Despite Derek's doubt in himself, Arceus has shown a considerable amount of faith in him. Arceus and Derek have unparalleled communication during battles, mostly because of Arceus' own abilities rather than Derek's. By the end of the second season it is obvious that Arceus has become a close friend and ally, even comforting him and boosting morale, particularly after Derek sets the Legendary Pokémon free. It is due to Arceus' unshakeable faith that Derek finally starts to believe in himself.