A Journey of Two, a Pokemon Story

Alright, I'll be calling the vote here. Looks like Violet will be enjoying the perks that come from "convincing" Flynn to gift her a reservation to as well as exploring the construction site.

[X] Explore the Construction Site - There's something clearly odd about it. A construction site that has been in the middle of construction for years without progress … You're sure there's something more to it.
[X] The Hotel - The Hotel Flynn had tickets for is very, very fancy. A four-star resort it'd be fantastic to just relax with your Pokemon and Willow.

Vermillion City wasn't traditionally thought of as a resort destination. While it did have access to a large harbor, most of it was used for cargo and passenger shipping. With facilities unique to all of Kanto, many larger vessels had no choice but to use Vermillion City for all their docking needs. As a result, the Staryu Resort didn't have access to a beach. Instead it overlooked a cliff face on the north side of the city, providing rather attractive views for rich trainers.

Willow had been shocked at the reservation Violet secured. Feeling somewhat mischievous, the shy girl allowed the energetic girl to guess how it was obtained. So far said guesses had ranged from wealthy parents to winning it from a trainer in a Pokemon battle. Willow had even guessed somewhat correctly when she theorized that she was gifted it from a trainer at the Pokemon Fan Club, but Violet wasn't willing to give up the game that easily. Her rival hadn't given up yet, even if her guesses slowed in frequency.

Sampling the various facilities available to them, Willow and Violet spend several hours at the resort's pool. With superficial similarities to the Cerulean City Gym's pool, it was large enough for a Gyrados and deep enough that it had patrolling Water Pokemon lifeguards to prevent humans from diving too deep. Violet had of course released her Pokemon to roam the pool and nearby area, as had Willow.

Dratini and Staryu could only barely be seen, with even Violet struggling to notice them playing at the bottom of the pool. Chansey was in the shallows alongside Violet, both of them fine with simply relaxing in the water and occasionally splashing each other for entertainment. Bronzor and Magnemite were avoiding the water due to personal preference. Magnemite due to their worries about rusting their shell (it was an irrational fear, but Violet wasn't going to force them) while Bronzor outright couldn't swim due to their weight. Willow's Eevee was currently being humored by a Jolteon who was going easy in a game of tag. Lastly, there was Pineco and Willow's latest capture, Heracross. The two of them were loafing around in the branches of the trees, choosing to spend time in an area best suited for them.

As Violet was slowly sipping away at the juice mixture she ordered, she spotted Willow trying and failing to race Dratini in the water. For a moment, she thought about joining her rival. Knowing Willow, she would then be dragged into a second race and possibly a third one after that. Shrugging her shoulders, Violet said to herself, "eh, why not?"

Using the wall to propel herself, the shy girl remembered the number of times she had chased Dratini around in the water as a child. Muscle memory put itself to work as Violet's feet began to kick in a steady beat. Arms spun in circles as she transitioned into a competent freestyle. Almost immediately, Violet began to catch up to Willow.

It wasn't that the energetic girl was a bad swimmer, Violet was just better. As expected, Willow refused to take this lying down, dragging the shy girl into a second then third race before beginning to try and copy what Violet was doing in the water. Providing some advice, mostly how to use her arms and feet properly, Willow's speed in the water rapidly improved, with the energetic girl managing to occasionally outpace Violet in the water.

A competitive spirit bloomed in Violet's heart. That just wouldn't do. This time it was Violet that initiated another race, something which absolutely delighted Willow. Violet won the next race and at this point it had been hours where the two girls had been sprinting back and forth across the pool, with Dratini and Staryu doing their own thing underwater. After finally deciding that they were done for the day, the two headed back to their room for the night to sleep.

The next day was spent in a similar manner, although rather than make use of the pool, the two girls instead made use of other features in the resort. Chief among them was the arcade which had a number of machines that were free for hotel guests. Finally being able to get to the end of some of the games without spending a fortune was quite fun for both Violet and Willow.

The third day was spent exploring the hotel. Surprising Willow with the breadth of exploration involved, Violet poked her head into locations she knew she wasn't meant to be. Exploring the elevator room was fun, she hadn't expected it to have all the machinery it did, or for there to be a wild Magnemite there, but it was a fun encounter. Willow herself seemed rather happy with the adventure, with the two girls looking through the resort from top to bottom.

Later in the week, Violet and Willow found themselves in front of the Construction Site. The site itself had been dormant for years now, with only a skeleton crew of security guards present. It was an odd situation to say the least, filled with legal technicalities that kept the area mired in red tape. The city had at this point given up on a swift solution and was instead content with a slower solution.

Looking at the site, Violet spotted many, many holes in the security, some of which she had heard about from other trainers who had looked into the site themselves. "Let's head through the bushes in the south?"

Willow nodded eagerly, her own eyes scanning the area. "Yep." A moment later she continued. "So, who do you think is hiding in there? Team Rocket? A hidden Pokemon Lab?"

Violet shook her head. There was little chance of anyone actually being in the area. As far as she suspected, she expected a simple in and out with minimal encounters. "N-no," she said softly, "Why would they be here?"

A few minutes later, Violet was staring in surprise at the sight before her. After entering the complex, the two girls had initially traveled along the eastern edge of the site. As they hugged the forested edge, they ran into multiple covert cameras which Violet noticed. Feeling the tension rise, they crept towards the center where they ran into a slightly worrisome sight. In front of them, four Team Rocket members were in the process of packing up a radio station.

"We're going to stop them right?" Willow said with a grin on her face, carefully balancing her Pokeballs so she could throw all four at once.

"This feels a little mean." Violet said softly, noticing that each of the Rockets had two Pokemon. And based on their demeanor, none of them were as experienced as them.

Willow frowned, "Is it bullying if it's Team Rocket?" Violet shrugged in response. "Okay, maybe we can go easy on them?"

Pick 1
[] It's not bullying if it's Team Rocket - Send out everyone
[] Let's keep it fair numbers-wise - Send out Dratini and Magnemite
[] Let's make them hate battling - Send out Pineco and Chansey
[] Hmm, we could make this a challenge - Send out only Dratini

Alright, I'll be calling the vote here. It looks like Violet wants to inflict the power of Stall on everyone she can. As it is, Willow gets in on the action as well with Bronzor leading to a battle that is hilariously one-sided in your favor as Chansey just heals through all damage the Rockets can do while Bronzor has fun with Confuse Ray, Safeguard, and Hypnosis.

And when they eventually give up due to exhausting themselves, that's when the Pineco decides to just explode and handle everything.

Violet thought about going easy on the Rockets for a moment. Then she had an idea that was technically going easy on them. "I-is Bronzor ready?" She asked her friend and rival.

Willow realized Violet's plan nearly instantly and gave a shark-like grin. "I like the way you think."

Three Pokeballs were thrown out leaving the Rockets yelling out in shock as they scrambled for their Pokemon. Bronzor hummed in amusement from the rear while Chansey and Pineco puffed themselves up, ready to take on all challengers.

To Team Rocket's credit, the reaction times on display were on par with those of Violet and Willow. Every member pulled out a single Pokeball and tossed it before one of them yelled, "Screw the rules, jump 'em!"

"Protect," Violet called out, as Pineco interspersed herself between the rest of the team and the several attacks that were launched. Two Rattatas slammed into Pineco followed immediately by Tackles from two Pidgy before a pair of Grimers tried to pound their way through Protect. And lastly came a pair of Zubats that tried and failed to use Astonish. Then Violet called for Chansey to use a move, "Sing."

The Egg Pokemon sang, a drowsy melody filling the ears of a Zubat before they collapsed to the ground asleep. Willow then made her presence known, "Bronzor, use Safeguard, let's show these Rockets who they're messing with!"

Rather wordy for Violet's tastes, but she wasn't about to say anything about it. Fidgeting slightly, she was careful to not take the fight for granted, "Rapid Spin, Chansey, hold on then Life Dew."

Multiple attacks came from the Rockets, with Pineco and Bronzor switching positions to absorb and take different hits. Spreading damage across the set of three Pokemon, a delayed Life Dew swiftly brought all of them back to full health while Bronzor's use of Confuse Ray began to disorient the various Team Rocket members.

"So, any of you want to surrender?" Willow chirped, realizing where this was going. "Cause we can do this all day."

"It's a bluff," one of the Rockets growled. "Just keep hitting them, they haven't attacked back at all."

"This is going to be fun," Willow said in a softer voice to Violet.

"I-I'm not b-bullying them right?" Violet asked hesitantly. It was one thing to defeat a trainer, it was another to make them regret every decision they had made until this point.

"I don't think so, hey!" Willow yelled. "Do you feel like you're being bullied?"

A second exchange occurred below, this time with Pineco using Protect to blunt the blows. "Don't be daft, kid, you don't have the strength to win, let alone bully someone."

"Well," Willow indicated to Violet, glancing over at her. "Looks like it's not bullying."

The rest of the fight could scarcely be called a fight. It was more like training for Pineco, Chansey, and Bronzor. Every round Life Dew would heal them to full health while Pineco and Bronzor slowly chipped away at their opponents' health. As the fight dragged on, Team Rocket's confidence vanished and one by one their Pokemon reached their limits. One of the Pidgy's outright gave up, panting on the sidelines and refusing to fight any longer.

Eventually, one of the Rockets made the only decision available to them. "Screw this, let's leg it."

Violet perked up at that, returning Chansey to her Pokeball as the Rocket and their Pokemon all dashed for the exit. "Pineco, Self Destruct."

Willow outright giggled as the Rockets panicked, pushing each other as they all tried to jam themselves through the door as Pineco slowly hopped towards them. "Wait, wait, wait, we can talk about this!" One of the Rockets yelled as they kept trying to push themselves through the door.

Pineco gave them an unamused look and exploded, knocking every member of Team Rocket and their Pokemon unconscious. "Well," Willow added, "I think they've learned their lesson now."

*Pineco upgrades Stamina to C--*
*Pineco upgrades Rapid Spin to C*
*Pineco upgrades Special Defense to D++*
*Pineco upgrades Speed to F++*
*Pineco upgrades Special Attack to D-*

*Chansey upgrades Stamina to A+*
*Chansey upgrades Special Attack to E+*
*Chansey upgrades Special Defense to B*
*Chansey upgrades Sing to C*

The Nineteenth Week, Pick 2

Pokemon Actions

[-] Catch a fifth Pokemon - Now that your team has its core members, a fifth and sixth member would be useful and have more possible options. However, it's still quite early for that. Locked.
[] Train with your Pokemon - All of your Pokemon are skilled in battle with unique skills. Several of them are near breakthroughs so training would help considerably.
[] Buy and Use TMs/HMs - You're a big enough trainer to afford TMs and HMs for your Pokemon. You should take advantage of it when you can.
[-] Train with Willow's Pokemon - While it would be nontraditional to train with your rival, both of you have unique skill sets that could complement each other. Unfortunately, Willow is busy this week.

Battling Actions

[] Challenge New Trainers - Now that you and your Pokemon have developed, fighting a few trainers in rapid succession would be easy.
[] Challenge an Experienced Trainer - Some trainers in the area have two badges, beating them may be a good experience.
[] Challenge Flynn to a Battle - You're not going to win, but Flynn is one of the strongest trainers you've seen. He'd go easy on you and use some of his newer Pokemon, but his strategy would likely be interesting to see.

Exploration Actions

[] See the Sights Inside the City - There are a number of interesting attractions in Vermillion City. The port is rather interesting and holds a fair few internationally-themed attractions.
[] Explore the Boats - A few boats from various regions are currently docked. Most of them have a policy of allowing trainers onboard to challenge others. It may be fun to check out the area.
[] See the Sights Outside the City - With Diglett Cave nearby, it could be fun to spend a few days exploring the cave system and see what interesting locations and Pokemon are within.
[] Explore Unorthodox Locations - There is a lighthouse nearby that's seldom visited. Spending a day or two to visit could be interesting.

Traveling Actions

[] Travel to Saffron City - Heading to Saffron City would let you work towards challenging Sabrina. However, your parents would drive to visit you, and you would have to meet them. Tetsuya is also here.
[] Travel to Celadon City - Celadon City is rather nearby, and you do have plans on challenging the Gym Leader. That being said, you would have to meet your parents at home.
[] Travel to Fuchsia City - It's a longer trip than the others due to the lack of towns along the way, but it would make for a fun experience.
[] Travel to Cinnabar Island - There are a number of ferries to Cinnabar Island, which would let you fight one of the more remote gyms now rather than later.
[] Travel to Write-in - There are many locations in Kanto one could take a direct route towards.

Social Actions (For socials, it's assumed you keep up a basic level of contact through text, choosing a social means I write it up)

[] Call up your parents - Your parents are very curious about your new traveling companion and would like to ask about Willow.
[] Call Tetsuya - An old childhood friend of yours, the two of you drifted off recently. He is currently preparing to take on the Saffron City Gym and just barely beat one of the trainers to allow him to do so.
[] The Hotel - The Hotel Flynn had tickets for is very, very fancy. A four-star resort it'd be fantastic to just relax with your Pokemon and Willow.