A Journey of Two, a Pokemon Story

Alright, time for me to close the vote. Looks like training Umbreon and reffing for Tetsuya and Willow wins.


Huh, well that's a fun result. (235 Tetsuya vs 213 Willow). I rolled an extra dice for Tetsuya by mistake.

In the two days before Willow and Tetsuya's battle, Violet was focused on a topic much closer to home. Understanding that the winner of the fight would want to fight her, Violet had decided that training Umbreon was necessary. While he was certainly experienced, she was concerned that his idea of a spar may be far too violent. Not to mention it seemed that Umbreon believed that was what training was.

Violet knew that some elite trainers did almost exclusively train via spars. But even they understood the limitations. Building muscle and evasive techniques was difficult when one had to perform maneuvers that were inconsistent at the best of times. Instead one needed to build a solid base outside of Pokemon battles that could be properly leveraged. Comparing Willow's Umbreon to her own, Violet could see the possibilities for improvement (even if Willow's Pokemon was far from normal).

The first day of practice with Umbreon was focused on simply teaching him a few exercises. Sprints, agility drills, elemental channeling, and more were the focus although Violet made sure to avoid anything too stressful. She wanted him to learn good technique for his exercises after all.

For his part, Umbreon appeared to disagree on how useful this would be. This in turn led to a brief discussion between Violet and him where they spent a few minutes arguing over the benefits and drawbacks of fully spar-based training. Eventually, she managed to convince him to at least try to practice her way for a little while. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to analytically determine if his method was better than the normal standard for trainers.

It did worry Violet that Umbreon seemed so used to constant battles. At one point she asked him to clarify what a spar was, at which point he explained it was fighting at full speed until someone fainted. Violet was quick to explain why that was frowned upon, and even if Umbreon didn't see the problems he was willing to accept her rules for sparring.

While she understood it would take more time before she managed to properly transition Umbreon from his military mindset, Violet was confident she could do so. Although first, she had another commitment to get to.

Standing on the edge of the battlefield in Saffron Park, Violet's eyes flickered between Willow and Tetsuya. Both of them contained their excitement poorly, with the former grinning with determination and the latter practically bouncing on his feet. Holding a Pokemon each, both trainers appeared to have already concocted a plan, which left Violet to do the honors and start the battle. "Let the battle begin," she declared.

Both trainers released their Pokemon before Willow's Umbreon darted forward instantly, beginning a steady chain of Quick Attacks, Dark Pulses, and Confuse Ray. On the other side, Onix towered over the battlefield, choosing to use a series of physical moves such as Rock Slide, Sand Tomb, and Rock Throw. Changing up her strategy, Willow ordered Umbreon to stand off and use Dark Pulse from a distance as the Moonlight Pokemon slowly wore down the Rock Snake Pokemon only taking a few hits before Onix fainted.

Krabby came next, managing to use Protect to absorb a Dark Pulse before absorbing a Confuse Ray and countering with Mud Shot. Snapping out of it immediately, Krabby was then faced with Starmie. Followed by both trainers switching out to Hypno and Heracross respectively. At that Willow frowned before switching back to Bronzong who easily ignored Hypno's Poison Gas. Following a Trick Room, Bronzong just barely won despite being notably stronger due to Hypno catching Willow off guard when Tetsuya ordered a feint with Pound before using Fire Punch.

Worn down and with Trick Room fading, Bronzong was then easily dispatched by Krabby leading to Willow sending out Heracross to avoid an unfavorable matchup with Pidgeotto. Closing in, Heracross was initially managing to dominate the fight before Krabby evolved into Kingler then caught the Single Horn Pokemon in a devastating Hammer Arm. Fighting back with Counter, Kingler replied with Protect before Heracross used Brick Break which missed. Fainting to a close-range Bubble Beam, Willow then sent out Starmie who would have to win the battle for her.

It started exceptionally, with Starmie using a series of Light Screens, Minimizes, and then Rapid Spins that defeated Kingler. Violet herself was having a hard time tracking Starmie's movements and for a moment she wrote off Tetsuya's Pidgeotto.

"IT'S NOT OVER YET!" Tetsuya roared as Pidgeotto was rocked by a Hydro Pump from Starmie. "Pidgeotto! Use Whirlwind! Cut off Starmie's movements!" Improvising with Whirlwind to try and corral the Water-type, Violet was surprised by it managing to work, leaving Starmie in a position where they could be hit. Despite using Confuse Ray to disorient Pidgeotto, the Bird Pokemon remained focused. "Pidgeotto!" Tetsuya followed up, "Agility!"

Violet's head whipped around, she was sure that before this battle that wasn't a move Pidgeotto knew. Looking up, the Bird Pokemon seemed to agree but still attempted to use it. And against all odds, it worked.

In a matter of seconds, Tetsuya had gone from a certain loss to an even fight, as both Starmie and Pidgeotto dueled across the arena among the gale-force winds. Darting back and forth at blistering speeds, every trainer struggled to know who would be the inevitable victor. It would be decided by whoever managed to hit the other first. And with so much momentum on his side, it was little wonder that Pidgeotto won the day with a Brave Bird.

Taking the loss like a good sport, Willow proudly declared, "Just you wait, next time we fight I'll be the victor!"

"I look forward to that," Tetsuya said with a smile. "But first! Violet, I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!"

Violet gave a pointed look at the exhausted Pidgeoto then quirked an eyebrow.

"...In a few days," he clarified sheepishly as Willow stifled a giggle.

[] Agree to a fight Week 29 - Fighting just before you leave Saffron City will allow the two of you to travel wherever you want. (Locks all actions Week 29 for the battle and traveling where you choose)
[] Agree to a fight Week 30 - Delaying the fight by a week will mean joining Tetsuya as he heads to Fuchsia City. Due to the distance, you would be fighting in the wilds. (Locks an action Week 29 for traveling to Fuchsia City. Locks an action Week 30 for the battle)
[] Write-in

Alright, it seems that a Week 29 fight against Tetsuya it is. For that fight, I'm debating if I should just cover it at a high level or if I should treat it like a step-by-step battle.

That being said, training with Umbreon goes well. While he does think some of the methods are weird, he's fine with trying them out for a while. Which in turn does mean he gets some neat stat gains.

After setting up a time three days from now to face Tetsuya and his team, Violet focused on Umbreon. While she had the basics already completed, she had to make sure he developed good habits early on. And the first step in that process was to ensure Umbreon knew how to pull his punches properly.

This was why Chansey was now serving as his sparring partner (although Violet did have to promise to take Chansey to a concert in the future in exchange). "Not at full strength!" Violet yelled as Umbreon prepared a Hyper Beam. Twitching at the interruption, the attack nonetheless weakened to a level appropriate for a spar.

During these bouts, Violet made sure to focus on elemental moves, which was an area she thought Umbreon would have the most success. Additionally, she also made sure to improve his speed and general defensibility. But perhaps most importantly, she made time to properly talk with him.

*Umbreon upgrades Defense to B-*
*Umbreon upgrades Special Attack to C-*
*Umbreon upgrades Special Defense to B+*
*Umbreon upgrades Speed to C-*

One day after a particularly tiring training session, Violet sat next to Umbreon and held out a bottle of water for him. "You're adapting quickly."

Umbreon lapped up the water before looking at her with an expression that practically screamed it was expected. He then stretched his limbs before glancing at the other Pokeballs on her hip wondering why her training schedule was far more lax than what he was used to. Surely a higher rate of intensity would be helpful?

"There are reasons for that," Violet began, understanding the need to alleviate his concerns. "Training till exhaustion is good for some things, but not everything."

Giving a dubious expression that slowly morphed into one of cautious acceptance, Umbreon let out a questioning hum. 'And what if it makes me weaker?'

"It won't," Violet explained. "And if it does, I'll change our training practices."

The Moonlight Pokemon gave a slight nod, although his expression remained thoughtful. He supposed that the training had shown results.

Violet nodded happily. "Yep, all my Pokemon trained in the same way."

From behind her, Chansey voiced her agreement. Umbreon's eyes shifted toward the Egg Pokemon, both jealous and impressed by her Stamina.

Looking at Violet, the Moonlight Pokemon gestured with his head towards Chansey.

Violet sighed, "Rest for five more minutes then you can spar again."

Umbreon gave a slight nod and his posture relaxed. He had a few ideas he wanted to use in the next round. A part of his mind recognized that the constant spars in the lab made it impossible for him to think and plan this much, but another part worried that the lack of adversity would prevent his growth. Looking at his trainer, he decided that she had earned the benefit of the doubt for now.

Planning the next step of their journey with Willow, Violet noticed a text from her parents who informed her of a warning south of Route 7. A localized state of emergency had been declared in the area as a group of trainers had stumbled across a Team Rocket supply depot that had been supplying their operations northeast of Kanto. While it was being packed up, it appeared that the organization had deployed several grunts to prevent its capture. The timing is also problematic as Gym Leader Sabrina is currently in a territory surveying the Eevolutions' land due to a lack of clarification on what borders they reside within. As a result, only the gym attendants are available along with special operatives from the Pokemon League. And even that is expected to be overkill.

Complicating the situation has been unconfirmed reports of Rocket personnel north of Route 7. Due to the lack of travelers in the area, this is a low-priority warning that will only be dealt with when local personnel are free. Rocket activity in general appears to be on an upswing, with the Viridian City Gym reporting a massive theft of equipment and funds. Gym leader Giovanni has begun to personally investigate the matter and has shut down the gym for the next three weeks. Additionally, the Vermillion City Gym was also subject to a significant break-in by four disguised individuals. This group struck after drawing out Lieutenant Surge by leaking a Rocket smuggling operation which allowed them to face only the attendants. Managing to defeat the trainers within, they are reported to have stolen 30 experienced Pokemon alongside attempting a transfer of funds to the Sinnoh League. Experts believe this to be a red herring, but that hasn't stopped conspiracy theorists from coming up with various ideas.

After reading up on events in Kanto, Willow and Violet eventually chose their destination for next week

[] Celadon City (Northern Route) - A rarely traveled route due to a mountainous ridge complicated by reports of Rocket activity. High chance of delays and encounters.
[] Celadon City (Route 7) - The safe, well-patrolled route between Celadon and Saffron. It will be nice to visit home once more.
[] Celadon City (Southern Route) - A route with known Rocket presence, gym attendants are headed over as well. It may nonetheless be fun to swing by and briefly help out.
[] Vermillion City - While you were here two months ago, it may be good to head back so you can catch a ferry to Cinnabar Island.
[] Cerulean City - A destination you have already visited, it may nonetheless be good to go caving once more.
[] Fuchsia City - A lengthy trip that'll take two weeks, it would allow you to travel with Tetsuya as well.
[] Write-in

Additionally, Violet also had her upcoming battle with Tetsuya for which she needed to choose which Pokemon she wouldn't be using. Musing to herself, she decided to set an additional challenge to not use any switches in the fight.

[] Dragonair
[] Forretress
[] Chansey
[] Magneton
[] Umbreon