A Journey of Two, a Pokemon Story

Alright, I'll be calling the vote here. It looks like buying TMs and HMs wins. I will say that I am slightly surprised at how many people voted for two options here, but approval voting works well enough so I'm fine with it.


Everything except Giga Impact, Draco Meteor, or Solar Beam is available. For reference, I'm using this site to reference what TMs a Pokemon can use:

Dratini's Page

The first step before facing the gym was simple for Violet. It involved using some of the money she had earned from beating two gyms to purchase TMs. There were so many moves that could prove instrumental to her Pokemon, with Dratini, in particular, certain to benefit from various Dragon-type moves. Not to mention the sheer utility Pineco would gain from learning how to use hazard moves like Stealth Rock.

And that didn't even get into some of the most powerful moves such as Hyper Beam or Steel Beam. Those would admittedly be harder to find, even in Saffron City. They were significantly rarer due to the power those moves had. Not to mention they had to be built to higher quality standards due to the complexity inherent to such strong moves. Nonetheless, Violet had time to search high and low for TMs and HMs, managing to slowly locate nearly every move her Pokemon could learn.

The only exceptions were Giga Impact, Draco Meteor, and Solar Beam. Those were sadly unavailable for her due to some sellers restricting their moves to trainers with 4 or 6 badges. She did find other similarly powerful moves elsewhere, but those three were only found in those specialty shops. Albeit a few of the more accessible shops did admit they sometimes had them in stock, usually when there was a slight excess and the specialty stores elected to sell them to stores intended for less experienced trainers.

Regardless, after managing to purchase three TMs for her Pokemon, Violet approached the Saffron City Gym, carefully studying it before actually entering.

Gym Leader Sabrina specialized in Psychic Pokemon which synergizes well with her psychic abilities. A powerful trainer capable of occasionally defeating a member of the Elite 4, her gym is known for refusing to accept one or two-badge fights. Additionally, there have been complaints about the difficulty of her three and four-badge fights, with an investigation currently underway to determine the truth of the matter.

Her attendants were the main method by which the gym interacted with the city itself. Sabrina rarely intervened in matters, but when she did, it was almost always due to some sort of disaster. As such, there was a disconnect between the city and the gym, which was further stressed by the presence of the Fighting Dojo which was trying to become an official gym.

Violet mentally cycled through her list of Pokemon, trying to figure out who she would use today. She'd been using Chansey and Magnemite a lot recently, and the latter had grown considerably from their battle with Flynn. However, Pineco had the type advantage and Dratini was raring to go himself. All four would be used against Sabrina, but for the fight with the attendant only one could be used.

Stepping into the gym, Violet wasn't given a single moment to prepare before she was immediately greeted by a gym attendant. "A three-badge fight?"

Violet blinked, looking the attendant up and down as she processed his question. The man in front of her appeared to be in his 50s and had four Pokeballs on his belt with another two floating above his shoulders. Looking around the room, she spotted an odd pad towards the right of the room and curiously enough no doors. Then there was a set of statues welcoming trainers that seemed to have an odd pattern of dots split among the two. "Ye-yeah."

She wondered how he knew that. Which caused the attendant to smirk. "Find your way to the gym leader, and you earn the right to challenge her." He gestured towards the pad before his eyes narrowed. "Be ready to fight the moment you enter."

Immediately grabbing Pineco's Pokeball, Violet mentally prepared herself for what was to come. Perhaps it would be a gauntlet, perhaps she'd simply fight another trainer without being able to prepare. She likely could have found out more through online searches, but she was also very willing to face off against the gym blind. She would learn more from it this way. "Alright, we can do this."

Violet stepped forward onto the pad and entered the gauntlet. At this moment, she was quite glad her Pokemon had learned a few new moves which would prove useful in the days to come.

Pick 3 TMs

Alright, I'll be calling the vote here. Looks like Outrage, Stealth Rock, and Flash Cannon win, notably helping out a fair few of your Pokemon in terms of strength.


Edit: So, you do manage to get through the gauntlet that the Saffron Gym offers, with Chansey, in particular, carrying the team thanks to stall letting them rest up. Magnemite's stamina causes some issues, but while Dratini has some issues getting used to Outrage, he, Pineco, and Chansey do enough to get through the gauntlet. Although at the end of it, everyone is very banged up. With Pineco in particular being at 1 HP due to using Explosion at the end.

[X] Outrage
[X] Stealth Rock
[X] Flash Cannon

Violet stepped into the first room and was beset upon by a Slowpoke. Its Headbutt was absorbed by Pineco's Protect which led to a Disable from the Water/Psychic Pokemon. Violet then ordered Pineco to go on the offensive, utilizing Bug Bite to devastating effect. Just as her opponent used Disable once more, the shy trainer quickly swapped to Magnemite, taking advantage of the moment before ending the fight with Thunder Shock.

The attendant adjusted his coat, letting a second Pokeball float upwards followed closely behind by a third. "A good start," he complimented with an expression that conveyed a faint level of praise alongside disinterest. "But how long can you keep it up?"

A second Slowpoke emerged, but this one was far less interested in removing Violet's options. Instead, it began to use Curse, providing Violet just enough time to have Magnemite be as aggressive as possible. Back-to-back Sparks followed, the trainer correctly realizing that Slowpoke was simply too slow of a target to evade the telegraphed blows. At the end of the exchange, Magnemite still stood, albeit mildly injured from the curse.

Then a third Slowpoke emerged, and Violet sighed. "There's six of you, aren't there?" It was a simple deduction based on what she had seen of the room's size. When compared to the gym's exterior, they could only fit a total of 9 of these rooms within it. Of which one was the entrance and another two would be needed for the official arena.

"You'll find out soon enough," the attendant said, trying to hide an amused expression at what was clearly her statement. Realizing her assumption was wrong, Violet begun to mull over the possibilities even as she continued the battle. There were not six attendants ready for her, but was it more or less?

The third Slowpoke charged Magnemite, absorbing a Spark before a Headbutt knocked Magnemite backwards. Then a second one followed while the Magnet Pokemon tried to regain their bearings, leaving Violet to hurriedly switch in Chansey who easily absorbed the blow. Unlike prior battles, however, Violet didn't use her to stall. Instead, she ordered the Egg Pokemon to "Sing!"

Slowpoke fell asleep, and Magnemite was too good to miss a target that was stationary.

After beating the first room, Violet stepped onto the available platform, causing her to be teleported to a room with another Psychic trainer. This time, she was faced with a Kadabra.

"Dratini! Don't let him move!" The Mirage Pokemon emerged from his Pokeball with a battle cry, immediately using Wrap to grapple the Psi Pokemon. Kadabra attempted to use Ally Switch only for Dratini's Thunder Wave to distract him at the critical moment. The second time, they were able to do so, only for Dratini to immediately use the same sequence of moves on Mr. Mime, causing the attendant no small amount of frustration. With both Pokemon paralyzed, Violet then had Pineco swap in and use her type advantage to ensure victory. Even if she took a few blows in the process.

The third room contained a woman in a garb she recognized from the Pokemon Tower, which had her own guard immediately as a Haunter was placed face to face with Chansey. What followed was a literal two hour long battle where Violet ensured her remaining Pokemon were healthy. The Egg Pokemon herself swapped between Disarming Voice, Life Dew, and Sweet Kiss (after maximizing the effect of Charm). In full honesty, Violet felt a little bad about it, but this way she ensured her Pokemon were ready for the rest of the fights.

The attendant clearly didn't like her reasoning based on the glare she received after Haunter finally fainted.

A single Slowpoke was in the next room alongside his shirtless trainer. That caused Violet pause before she forced herself to ignore it. Unleashing Magnemite once more, she was a little disappointed to see so many Slowpokes in the gym. She bought the TM for Flash Cannon for a reason, but hadn't used it once so far!

The fight ended in her favor, but Magnemite was clearly flagging, their stamina not up to par with where she needed it to be. Nonetheless, they had defeated multiple Pokemon thus far so Violet didn't complain about it.

The fifth fight was against a psychic who had four Pokeballs ominously floating around her, and Violet knew how to start this fight off. Letting Pineco be hit by the opponent's Mr. Mime, she used Stealth Rock to ensure she had an available Hazard. After which, Pineco was replaced by Magnemite who at last used Flash Cannon to absurd effect as the super effective move struck the ill-prepared Barrier Pokemon.

A Gastly emerged next only to find itself facing a Chansey and swapping out to Slowpoke. And Violet forced yet another switch when Magnemite came into the battle. The psychic attendant gave her a look that conveyed both frustration and praise even as she swapped to her last Pokemon, Kadabra.

Dratini emerged next for Violet, forcing his way through an utterly brutal Psycho Cut to land the first of three Outrages. The first struck Kadabra, the second a Slowpoke guarded by Reflect. And the third caused Slowpoke to faint even as Yawn ensured Dratini fell asleep then and there.

The rest of the fight with an injured Kadabra and Gastly was easy, with Pineco handling the former and Chansey the latter.

The following hour-long fight gave Violet enough time to check on her Pokemon, and chat briefly with the attendant who was more amused at the fight lasting as long as it did.

The last room was a triple battle that Violet solved through the use of Pineco. A mere second after she stepped into the room, Violet spotted the three trainer waiting for her. And crucially, there wasn't a single Ghost Pokemon among them.

"Pineco," she didn't even have to give the order. The Bagworm Pokemon was already using the move she asked for. "Self-Destruct."

Finally, Violet had made it to the end of the gauntlet where the gym leader sat on what she could only describe as a throne. Looking down on her, Sabrina's lips didn't move but Violet could clearly hear words being spoken.

'We will battle in six days, prepare.'

The 22nd Week, Pick 1

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.
[] Review Past Battles - You were so close to beating Flynn, and some of the tricks he tried are giving you ideas. Going over your past battles may help with that.

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.
[] Look into the Surge in Wild Pokemon Encounters - A lot of trainers have reported being attacked by Eevee on the outskirts of the city. One of the gym attendants was dispatched but hasn't been seen since.
[X] Challenge the Saffron City Gym - Gym Leader Sabrina is one of the more intimidating trainers due to her psychic powers. But she is also an extremely experienced leader with a reputation for having her challenges be notably harder than the norm.

Exploration Actions

[] See the Sights Inside the City - There are a number of interesting attractions in Saffron City. You saw a fair few last time you were here, but far from all.
[] 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 - Saffron City is a large metropolis with a number of rather unconventional places to explore. See what you can find.

Traveling Actions

*You plan to face the Saffron Gym soon. You can't leave just yet.

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)

[] Meet your parents - Your parents are currently touring the city, mainly the places you already visited. While they would understand if you were busy, they would appreciate it if you joined them.
[] Meet Tetsuya - An old childhood friend of yours, the two of you drifted off recently. He will be at the gym to try and challenge Sabrina in the next few days. You could meet him before that.
[-] Meet Willow's Family - You're currently staying with Willow's family but they are rather busy with Willow who is herself busy visiting people she knows in the city. It'd be awkward to join her.