A Journey of Two, a Pokemon Story

Alright, I forgot to actually close the vote yesterday, but now is good enough for that.

As for the battle with Giovanni, that winds up being far more interesting fight than I expected. A part of that is due to me forgetting that Outrage doesn't cause Confusion if it misses. As it is, in the first round Nidoking uses Helping Hand on Rhyhorn and dodges an Outrage, which is followed up by Magneton landing a Flash Cannon to knock out Rhyhorn. Following this Nidoking and Dragonair engage in a series of rapid exchanges where they both dodge each others moves. But during this, the repeated Earth Powers knocks out Magneton after their Protect finally fails.

Then the one on one between Nidoking and Dragonair becomes far more interesting due to Nidoking managing four critical hits over the course of several rounds. Thankfully though Dragonair is able to Protect on those rounds. Finally though, the game of tag ends as Dragonair lands the third Outrage knocking Nidoking out.

The next day, Violet met up with Willow early in the morning for breakfast where she regaled her friend with the events of the past few days. Just as she finished explaining the teleport ambush she had pulled off, Willow stood up from her seat and slammed both her hands on the table. "That sounds like so much fun!" She exclaimed, both jealous and impressed. "But next time I get to lead the adventure."

Having seen Willow's sudden enthusiasm coming, Violet had put down her fork to avoid accidentally stabbing herself with it. "Hopefully next time there's less laws involved, Officer Jenny almost arrested me."

Willow grinned, flopping back into her chair. "That's how you know you did good. Haven't you seen all those shows where the good guys get yelled at by the police?" She leaned forward, propping up her chin with her hand. "I still can't believe your first move in a fight was teleporting into the middle of thirty Pokemon."

"It was the best way to defeat them," Violet replied in an almost plaintive tone. "I still can't believe Silph Co was involved in that."

So far, the news of the Cage Balls had yet to become public. And it may not ever see the light of day due to the Viridian Gym correctly pointing out that Legendary Pokemon may take offense to their existence. Violet was pretty sure that it wasn't a good look for Giovanni though due to the financial incentive he had to keep everything quiet. Having that much stock in a company will do that.

"Neither can I," Willow said seriously. "And did the police force really share information with Team Rocket?"

"That's what Crystal said," Violet explained. "And the news agreed." Violet slid over her phone, showing a screen that listed the scandals of the Viridian Police. It was disturbingly long, especially when compared to the list of scandals in other cities.

"Maybe we should break in and check?" Willow suggested cheekily. "If we hurry we can get back to Viridian before the Indigo League starts."

"Three gyms in eight weeks," Violet muttered, mentally calculating the amount of traveling they'd need to do. "We can do that." An unsaid barely wasn't said out loud, but both girls knew that they had a lot to do in upcoming weeks.

A few hours later, Violet stood at the edge of one of the Viridian Gym's main arenas while Willow headed to the Viridian Forest for a two-day excursion to some of its thickest parts. The gym itself lacked an audience, which was a slight surprise to Violet. Most of the gym's income usually came from the Pokemon League, but a sizable amount usually came from ticket sales for various matches. Giovanni, however, had decided to avoid having any audiences at all due to his preference for a match without distractions.

"Violet," the gym leader said from the other side of the arena, his eyes looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and judgment. "Are you ready to battle?"

Violet nodded once, holding both Dragonair and Magneton's Pokeballs in a single hand. Her eyes remained locked on Giovanni, who seemed taken aback by the sudden shift in what he had previously thought was a meek trainer that Crystal had used as an informant. Silently, the gym leader's hand moved from the set of Pokemon he had initially planned to use for the battle to a set that was notably more dangerous.

The referee yelled for the battle to begin, and four Pokemon were thrown onto the battlefield. Giovanni's Nidoking and Rhyhorn stood on one side of the arena, with the latter holding a pink Eviolite stone. Both trainers immediately began to shout out orders, with Violet telling Magneton to appear sluggish to bait out a useless Helping Hand from Nidoking. The surprisingly agile Drill Pokemon evaded the first Outrage from Dragonair before falling for Violet's subtle trick and boosted Rhyhorn who had begun preparing a powerful Earthquake. Only for Magneton's Flash Cannon to strike and cause the Spikes Pokemon to faint.

"Good work Magneton," Violet called out, her eyes shifting towards Nidoking who seemed entirely unphased by the loss of his partner. Her eyes then glanced towards Giovanni who was entirely unbothered, Rhyhorn wasn't whose performance he cared about in this fight.

"Nidoking," the gym leader called out in a tone that brooked no arguments.

"Incoming Earth Power," Violet informed her Pokemon.

"Earth Power," Giovanni ordered a moment later before Violet's words caught up to his brain. A flash of very well-hidden surprise crossed his face before he schooled his features.

"Magneton, Protect! Dragonair, Outrage!" Violet ordered somewhat unnecessarily as both Pokemon had already begun those moves regardless. She was tempted to have her oldest companion use Protect to allow Magneton to use Magnet Rise, but based on Nidoking's level he wouldn't survive another Outrage. Dragonair leaped through the air, adding a small flourish as he avoided the move and slammed into Nidoking who was far less damaged than Violet had expected.

A second Earth Power erupted a second later, with Magneton maintaining the protective barrier around them absorbing the blow entirely. Dragonair, on the other hand, leaped over the move for a second time, with only Nidoking's reflexes preventing a second blow from landing.

Then a third Earth Power erupted, Magneton strained to maintain their Protect but barely managed it. "Protect," Violet ordered Dragonair, as she noticed he was out of position for a third dodge. It was good that she did so, as the move was the only thing preventing a critical hit from striking Dragonair.

Then a fourth Earth Power erupted, and Magneton's Protect finally broke, removing the Magnet Pokemon from the fight. Dragonair simply continued to maintain his own Protect, avoiding the damage that could have been done from the very well-aimed blow. Both trainer and Pokemon spotted an opening to gain more room to evade, and Dragonair jumped into motion with another Outrage.

The two remaining Pokemon continued to clash, blow after blow being traded and avoided. Despite the size of Nidoking and Dragonair, both Pokemon were far faster than average allowing them to race across the arena in a dangerous game of tag. Being slightly faster, it wasn't a surprise that Dragonair landed a second blow, which Violet expected would have been the end of the fight.

However, Nidoking remained standing, causing Giovanni to smile. Regardless of the outcome, he was happy with how the fight had gone. Then the Drill Pokemon roared, managing to pin Dragonair into a corner of the arena where Violet was forced to order him to conduct a series of Protects to avoid the well-aimed Earth Powers from Nidoking. Then on the extraction from the corner, Dragonair took his first hit which did significantly more damage than Violet had expected.

As both Dragonair and Nidoking lined up for what would be their last clash, Violet observed Nidoking in a new light. Paying special attention to their muscles and chitinous coating, what she saw only confused her. Nidoking was significantly stronger than his frame indicated. Moreover, his exterior was also far stronger than she would expect from a Nidoking of his experience. Looking at Giovanni, Violet wondered if the gym leader had done something to enhance his Pokemon in some manner. And based on how pleased he was with the fight, her assumption was likely correct.

However, it wasn't enough to change the outcome of the fight. The final exchange occurred, with Dragonair landing Outrage a moment before Nidoking could land his own Earth Power. Having now earned the Earth Badge, Violet began mentally mapping her next destination.

*Dragonair upgrades Outrage from C+ to B--*
*Dragonair upgrades Protect from C+ to C++*
*Dragonair upgrades Evasion from A-- to A-*
*Dragonair learned Rain Dance at C*

[] Cinnabar Island (Via Plane) - Home of Blaine's secretive fire-type gym, traveling via airplane will be quick but will mean missing out on some adventure.
[] Cinnabar Island (Via Boat) - Taking a longer route of traveling to Pallet Town and hiring a small boat will take notably longer, but it could result in some interesting adventure.
[] Fuchsia City (Bike) - Home to the Safari Zone where Willow wishes to catch a Tauros you'd have to carry her on the back of your own bike due to only having one of them with you. It'll be somewhat awkward, but the bike path would allow you to arrive somewhat quickly.
[] Saffron City (Walk) - A journey that you think would take eight days of travel, Willow however believes you could do it in four. It'd be … interesting to attempt.

It seems a flight to Cinnabar Island is the decision.