A Journey of Two, a Pokemon Story

Comparing plans with Willow, Violet noticed that while she understood parts of her rival's ideas, she didn't entirely grasp the full practice. And knowing Willow, she knew that while her rival could seem airheaded at times, she knew what she was doing. And so, Violet made what she would later regard as a mistake when she agreed to follow Willow's practices.

"This is gonna be so fun," Willow said happily, running Violet and her Pokemon through a series of stretches. "You can't plan if you never get the time for it."

The statement wasn't incorrect, but Violet knew of a few ways around that. Her go-to was just figuring out what was going on before it happened. At the same time, being able to act a split second before the opponent was valuable. It was part of why she agreed to do this. "I … I guess that can work." She hesitantly said, causing Willow to pout.

"I'll just have to show you the benefits!" Willow declared, "Tell you what, the moment we both get a full team of 6, you and I can battle it out."

"Deal," Violet said confidently, already thinking about how she would approach that fight. Sparing a glance at Willow's latest Pokemon, a Minun, she was not surprised in the slightest to see that it was quite fast. Dropping into a lunge, Violet asked, "What are you thinking of catching?"

"I'm thinking a Tauros," Willow replied, "Or maybe a Beedrill? Tauros just seems to fit me better yanno?"

Violet did not, in fact, know. But she could understand the gist of the reasoning. Willow seemed to focus on speed to far too high of an extent, so it would make sense that how fast a Pokemon is would factor into her calculations. "I get it." She stood up from her lunges, taking a moment to luxuriate in the burn. "I … I know you like speed," Violet clarified after Willow appeared to be waiting for her to speak.

"You know me so well," Willow replied with a grin. "So, Magneton needs some special attention it seems."

Magneton snapped their gaze in their direction, as Willow's grin turned evil. Violet carefully avoided looking in their direction as they hummed in annoyance.

"Don't worry, Violet gets to join you!"

This time, it was Violet who snapped her gaze towards Willow, a sense of fear overtaking her. "Wa-wait, I didn't agree to this," she wailed.

But Willow was undeterred, and everyone immediately began a series of sprints that caused everyone to quickly grow tired. And that was before she then started having Pokemon rotate in and out to act as attackers which forced everyone to begin incorporating dodges, weaves, and other maneuvers into their sprints. Willow and Violet weren't exempt from this, with the former excitedly explaining that trainers could improve just by understanding what they were asking of their Pokemon. While Violet did appreciate that perspective sometimes, it was hard to do that when every muscle in her legs ached.

Stopping for a moment to rest, Violet panted heavily, her legs felt like irons and her hair was a complete mess. "Come on, you got this!" Willow urged, somehow still managing to continue sprinting. "Magneton, keep up the pace, you're lagging behind!" True to her word, Magneton had seemingly tried to take a moment to rest themselves, but throughout the training, both Violet and Willow had been keeping a close eye on the Magnet Pokemon. And even if the former was now more focused on getting air into her lungs, the latter was still somehow active. "Violet! No slacking!"

Violet audibly groaned before forcing herself to continue running. By Arceus, this had been a mistake!

Finally wrapping up a few hours later, Willow flashed Violet a grin. "Not bad for your first day," she joked, stealing breaths from between her words. "A few more days of this and both of us will be zooming across the arena."

Violet, who was currently lying on her back with her limbs spread out, slowly forced air back into her lungs. "Is … is this … what you do … every week?"

Besides her, Magneton groaned wondering what Willow was made of. Chansey and Umbreon were slightly better, stretching to avoid any lingering aches. Forretress was still running drills, mainly due to her frame making her travel slower overall. Then there was Dragonair who was currently showing off as usual.

"Not every week," Willow replied, placing a heavy emphasis on the second word. "Sometimes I focus on other things. I can't win with just speed yanno?"

Violet did, in fact, know.

*Violet gains Skilled Runner*
*Dragonair improves Stamina from C to B--*
*Dragonair improves Speed from B+ to A--*
*Dragonair improves Evasion from B+ to A--*
*Dragonair learned Dragon Rush at E++/C--*
*Forretress improves Stamina from C to B--*
*Forretress improves Speed from D-- to D*
*Forretress improves Evasion from F++ to E++*
*Forretress learned Explosion at E++/C++*
*Blissey improves Speed from C- to C+*
*Blissey improves Evasion from C-- to C+*
*Magneton improves Stamina from C– to C+*
*Magneton improves Speed from D to C*
*Magneton improves Evasion from D to C*
*Umbreon improves Speed from C- to C*
*Umbreon improves Evasion from B-- to B*

The 33th Week, Pick 2

Pokemon Actions

[] Catch your Sixth Pokemon - Now that you have four badges, you could catch another Pokemon providing a full team.
[] Train with your Pokemon - All of your Pokemon are skilled in battle with unique skills, but they can see some improvements through practice.
[] Spend Time with your Pokemon - Now that you're back in your home city, it may be nice to spend some time at the beach where you met Dragonair.
[] 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- While it would be nontraditional to train with your rival, both of you have unique skill sets that could complement each other.

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 several badges, beating them may be a good experience.
[] Chasing Rockets - A major breakout in the city has occurred with many prisoners escaping. Officer Jenny has started chasing several of them, but the city is organizing additional efforts to recapture the prisoners.

Exploration Actions

[] See the Sights Inside the City - There are several interesting attractions in Celadon although you have seen many of them before. Still, it may be fun to revisit them.
[] Explore Unorthodox Locations - Celadon City has a lot that you can explore, some of them have been on your list to visit for years. Try and explore them.

Traveling Actions (Must be taken either this turn or the next)

[] Leave the City - It's about time you decided to head out. There are a few cities that you want to travel to. Not to mention quite a few adventures to have. Opens travel sub-vote. Will be automatically taken next week if not taken this week.

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)

[] Spend Time with Your Parents - Your parents enjoy spending time with you and would like to have fun with you.
[] Call Tetsuya - He just arrived in Fuchsia City and is now practicing for a gym battle.

Alright, I'll be calling the vote here. Seems like hunting Rockets and leaving the city wins.

Edit: Well, it seems like Violet and Willow have some truly absurd luck in the initial stages of this hunt, managing to stumble across several groups of Rocket grunts and capture them. Next update you get to see Team Rocket getting PTSD from two girls followed by the two of you actually running into a Team Rocket Retrieval specialist which will make for an interesting fight.

Initially, Violet had planned to simply leave Celadon alongside Willow. After having a fancy dinner with her parents where she was able to use the same dress she recently bought, she texted her rival and the two agreed that it was time for them to leave. The exact location that they planned to head towards was more complicated, with both of them trading text messages on a few cities in question. Fuchsia, Viridian, and Cinnabar Island were the main focuses, although they did discuss Pewter and Saffron as well. The presence of a Skarmory migratory flock on Cinnabar Island did, however, heavily play into the discussion with Violet rather interested in that. Willow on the other hand wanted to head towards Viridian City due to the gym being open as Gym Leader Giovanni was known for leaving it closed for long periods of time with little notice.

Deciding to meet up the next day, Violet left her home after giving her parents a hug and promising to continue calling them. Meeting up at the Eon Cafe, the two girls initially intended to determine a city to head towards. At least that was the plan until a TV in the cafe announced that a major breakout had occurred in the city with the Pokemon League requesting trainers to mobilize and assist in apprehending the escaped Team Rocket members.

For a moment, Violet thought about deciding against helping. The Pokemon League would surely be able to manage things, and the broadcast had mentioned both Officer Jenny and Gym Leader Erika were participating. Of course, that was when Willow opened her mouth, "You wanna train before we leave?" She asked with an amused glint in her eye. "It's perfect for practicing running!"

Violet's aching muscles voiced their thoughts on the matter, but Violet herself took a moment to consider the matter. Slowly, she felt her head nodding almost against her will. "I … I guess?" She said unconfidently.

"C'mon Violet," Willow replied, clearly fantasizing about pile-driving a Rocket after missing her chance to do so with D. "Imagine the looks on their faces as we chase them down one by one!"

"W-well," Violet hesitantly began. "It doesn't hurt to help."

"Plus Forretress will have fun~" Willow explained with an evil grin that was quickly mirrored on Violet's face.

"Yes, she would." It would be cruel to deny her Pokemon an opportunity for fun after all.

---

Two days later, a member of Team Rocket was flying above the forest northwest of Celadon City. Stuart gripped the reins tightly as Pidgeot soared through the skies. He always loved flying, even if today's flight was against the rules. The sticklers in charge of this operation had all sorts of rules when it came to this. No flying during the day, listen to their words, blah, blah, blah.

It was annoying, to say the least, but those four trainers had true power. Stuart didn't know why they showed up for this, but he could make a few guesses. The main one is Team Galactic of all groups trying to muscle in on their turf. The last thing Team Rocket's mysterious boss wanted was for the Pokemon League to hear about that and call in Cynthia. Team Rocket was a lot of things, but they still didn't have an answer for Lance, let alone Cynthia. However from what Stuart had heard, they were working on a few rather promising projects.

His job today was thanks to the incompetence of the inferiors in Team Rocket. He thought only truly powerful trainers could enter the organization, but it seemed that every group had to rely on plebeians to get buy. The twenty grunts he was supposed to guide in Gardenia Town had simply not arrived when they were supposed to. Instead, they had just vanished. He'd even gone against protocol and called several of them, only to get a single response. That call only caused him more questions as the grunt in question genuinely had no idea what was going on. Said grunt never answered the phone again.

A faint cloud of dust caught the attention of Stuart's Pidgeot. Letting out a soft cry to catch Stuart's attention, the Rocket turned towards it only for a thunderous bang to reach his ears. Patting Pidgeot on his neck, Stuart whispered. "Don't worry, we'll just take a quick look."

Circling around the explosion, Stuart's phone began to ring. Annoyed, he glanced at the caller ID and snarled. Picking it up to begin chewing out the breach in protocol, he began to yell into it. "This is - "

"HELP ME!" Screamed the grunt on the other end. "They've been - Wait, wait, wait!" Electric discharges could be heard over the phone, leaving Stuart with a sense of unease as the call dropped.

"Idiot," Stuard muttered. "I wouldn't be so stupid to get caught."

Another glint caught his eyes before his body locked up as electricity coursed through both him and Pidgeot. Clearing his eyes, Stuart spotted a kid staring up at him, somehow having seen him through the trees. Pidgeot gave a cry of triumph, even as the edges of their wings smoked. The Thunder Shock was damaging, but Pidgeot was tough.

"It'll take more than that!" Stuart yelled out, as Pidgeot dove towards the challengers. There was no chance a kid could beat someone as strong as him. Then out of nowhere, a second flash entered Stuart's peripheral vision followed by a giggling Minun. "Of fu-"

A second electric attack hit Pidgeot, and this time the Bird Pokemon couldn't resist it as they fainted. Barely managing to control his fall, Stuart let out a groan as he slammed into a tree. Forcing himself to his feet, he threw out his Pokemon thinking back to the drills Team Rocket had forced him through.

He looked towards Lapras who was already moving towards Venusaur and Rhydon as they had practiced. Unfortunately, she would never get a chance to properly link up as a Bronzong and Heracross slammed into her from the side, dragging her away from his other Pokemon.

Growling in irritation, Stuart tried to think about what to do before another three Pokemon entered the fray. This time a Minun, Umbreon, and Starmie swiftly corralled Stuart's Arcanine away from the group, preventing him from making use of his Helping Hand.

As if that wasn't bad enough, a girl with four badges on her shirt stepped forward, gazing at him as if she were staring into his very soul. She didn't say anything, only breaking eye contact to look over his Pokemon as he tried to manage two battles at once.




Violet's Perceptive Trait Kicks in!

Stuart is currently overwhelmed by everything that's happened and will be having all his Pokemon hide behind Venusaur as she uses Protect this round. Rhydon will take a moment to use Swords Dance out of instinct. Gengar will be using Taunt against Chansey.

After this, Rhydon will use Giga Impact constantly while using the other runs to be as defensive as possible. Venusaur will alternate between Protect and Giga Drain. And Gengar will work to use Disable on any moves of importance.

Against Willow, Stuart has arrayed Lapras and Arcanine against her. He'll be having Arcanine hide behind Lapras as she uses Protect to give him a moment to think. After which he'll be hyper-aggressive and have Larpas and Arcanine do everything they can to defeat her quickly. Notably, he'll be trying to keep these fights separate.

Willow realizes an opportunity and will be attacking Venusaur, Rhydon, and Gengar from behind with her most effective moves. After which she'll be hyper-aggressive against Lapras and Arcanine.

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