A Journey of Two, a Pokemon Story

Giovanni didn't have a ceremony for handing out the Earth Badge as Violet swiftly learned. Instead, he simply removed one of several badges held in a small case and handed it over. "Well fought," he said gruffly, betraying little of his true thoughts.

Somewhat curious about the closed-off gym leader, Violet squinted as she tried to see through Giovanni. While he appeared to mean his words and would likely keep an eye on her, he didn't appear to have a personal interest in her. In his eyes, she was a promising young trainer, but if Violet failed to pass a roadblock then it would be unfortunate but expected. "Thanks," Violet finally said, content to avoid a more drawn-out conversation.

Turning to leave, her hopes of avoiding a conversation were swiftly shattered when she spotted Crystal lounging by the exit. "My number," the attendant stated, holding out a slip of paper. "If you run into a problem, give me a call."

Violet glanced at the paper, memorizing the number before briefly glancing at the Pokeball earrings Crystal wore. She was still curious about what it would be like to face the attendant in a full 6 on 6 fight. While the one-on-one with Nidoking was a swift victory for Violet, she knew that the rest of Crystal's team was both well-built and improving. "I'll keep it in mind," Violet said softly, not wanting to commit to anything.

Crystal nodded, even as a pair of warring thoughts appeared to play across her face. "Where are you headed?" She eventually asked, hoping Violet would give an answer that would allow her to remain silent.

"Cinnabar," Violet replied, her mind flashing to her current plans. "Then Fuchsia, then Saffron, then the Indigo Plateau."

Crystal chewed the inside of her lip for a moment before leaning forward, glancing at Giovanni to ensure he wasn't able to eavesdrop. "Stay on the main roads when you head out of Saffron," she whispered. "Something over there worries Giovanni."

Violet wanted to ask questions, but before she could Crystal shook her head. Even if she knew enough to answer her queries, she wouldn't say. While Crystal liked Violet's enthusiasm for violence, it wasn't to the point of leaking confidential information.

With that foreboding warning done with, the rest of the day was spent with Willow booking their travel plans. While the flight tickets were easy to reserve, they had a lengthy debate on the merits of driving or taking a car. Eventually, they decided on the car ride to a hotel where they'd stay, after which they'd be free to challenge the gym. And after flying over the sea south of Kanto for an hour, they arrived at their destination.

The 40th Week. 1 Locked. Pick 1.

Pokemon Actions

[] Catch a Pokemon - While you have a full team of six, you can catch a seventh Pokemon. Cinnabar Island has a fair few unique Pokemon that you can't find elsewhere in Kanto.
[] Spend time with Gengar - Having recently caught Gengar, it'd be good to spend time with him to understand their desires.
[] Train with your Pokemon - All of your Pokemon are skilled in battle with unique skills, but they can see some improvements through practice. Especially with their new moves.
[] Buy and Use TMs/HMs - You're a big enough trainer to afford TMs and HMs for your Pokemon.
[] Buy Items - Now that you've earned the sixth badge, you can start looking into buying items for your Pokemon.
[-] 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. But she's currently seeking out the gym.

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 - There are at least a few experienced trainers around here that may be worth fighting.
[] Challenge Crystal - Crystal is a trainer roughly at your skill level. It would be fun to have a battle with her and see who wins.

Exploration Actions

[] Tour the Island - Several interesting attractions on Cinnabar Island would be worth exploring. It is a tourist destination after all.
[] Explore Unorthodox Locations - There are a fair few unique attractions that most tourists and trainers avoid. Apparently, it's possible to explore some of the lava tunnels in the volcano.
[] Try and Find the Gym - Surprisingly, the gym's location isn't well known nor can it be found online. It seems you'll have to search for it yourself. Willow is going to be doing so herself. She'd appreciate the help.

Traveling Actions

[X] Leave Viridian City - After defeating Giovanni, you headed to Cinnabar Island via a swift plane flight.

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 Your Parents - Your parents would as usual like a call when you're free.
[] Call Tetsuya - Now in Celadon City, Tetsuya is preparing for his sixth gym battle. He's a bit worried about it, but is training hard.

Gengar time it is. Time for Violet to taste a whole bunch of different foods it seems.

Gengar was a rather passionate Pokemon. Very focused on trying new cuisines and desiring to learn how to cook himself, the Shadow Pokemon displayed a unique knowledge of wild herbs due to his experiments in the past. Therefore, Violet began taking him to a series of restaurants on Cinnabar Island over three days.

The Pokemon Cafe was their first stop the day after they landed on Cinnabar. While Willow began searching for the gym in the inhabited areas, Violet and Gengar feasted on Clefairy Pancakes. Gengar was very interested in the Gengar Sundae, however. And despite Violet trying to explain to him that ice cream was not a breakfast food, she eventually caved and ordered one for him.

Then there was Sushi by the Sea, where the two of them could view the waves crashing on the beach while being fed freshly caught fish. There was more to their time together than just food, of course, but Violet was focused on getting to know Gengar. And the Shadow Pokemon was quite interested in exploring the breadth of cuisine humans had available to them.

Gengar's favorite was the culinary class Violet had signed them up for. The eight-hour course took all day to teach the two of them learned how to properly prepare and cook sashimi. Violet would admit that the class wasn't entertaining for her, but it also wasn't a chore. Gengar on the other hand was visibly excited, with Violet having to warn him several times that he was floating above the ground.

While the two of them were preparing the sushi rice (after the chef had spent an hour talking about how to prepare fish for safe consumption), Violet looked to Gengar and asked. "Did you cook fish in the wild?"

The Shadow Pokemon paused, an embarrassing memory coming to mind. He mimed the action of eating a brick, before using Lick to show how disgusting it ended up. He hadn't realized that you weren't supposed to wait for the fire to stop before taking it off the flame.

"Well," Violet said, looking at the bowl of sushi rice before her. "At least this time there's no open fire for you to use."

Gengar sighed dramatically, slumping as if the burnt char added to the dish. Then he floated to his station, taking over from Violet to prepare the rice properly. Carefully, Gengar mimicked the chef's techniques doing a notably better job than Violet had been before.

Violet watched, a soft smile tugging at her lips. "You're really into this, aren't you?"

Gengar gave a serious nod, gesturing to the rice as if to say 'This is serious business.'

"Well, we have another day," Violet said. "We don't have to stop at Sashimi."

Gengar let out a gleeful chuckle, eager for the next day even as he focused on perfecting the rice in front of him.

*Gengar improves Cook from C+ to C++*

The 41st Week. Pick 2

Pokemon Actions

[] Catch a Pokemon - While you have a full team of six, you can catch a seventh Pokemon. Cinnabar Island has a fair few unique Pokemon that you can't find elsewhere in Kanto.
[] Train with your Pokemon - All of your Pokemon are skilled in battle with unique skills, but they can see some improvements through practice. Especially with their new moves.
[] Buy and Use TMs/HMs - You're a big enough trainer to afford TMs and HMs for your Pokemon.
[] Buy Items - Now that you've earned the sixth badge, you can start looking into buying items for your Pokemon.
[-] 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. But she's currently seeking out the gym.

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 - There are at least a few experienced trainers around here that may be worth fighting.

Exploration Actions

[] Tour the Island - Several interesting attractions on Cinnabar Island would be worth exploring. It is a tourist destination after all.
[] Explore Unorthodox Locations - There are a fair few unique attractions that most tourists and trainers avoid. Apparently, it's possible to explore some of the lava tunnels in the volcano.
[] Try and Find the Gym - Surprisingly, the gym's location isn't well known nor can it be found online. Willow is pretty sure it's not in the city which leaves the less traveled parts of the island to search.

Traveling Actions

[-] Travel to Another City - Until you beat the gym, you're going to remain on the island.

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 Your Parents - Your parents would as usual like a call when you're free.
[] Call Tetsuya - Now in Celadon City, Tetsuya just barely lost to Erika in a gym battle. He's now training rather hard in an attempt to prepare for the next match.

Alright, I'll be closing the vote here, a day later than normal due to IRL delays. I'll get the update out tomorrow rather but the normal update schedule will hold from here on out outside of unexpected delays.

As it is, trying to locate the gym wins, but it's a tie between challenging an experienced trainer and seeking out a seventh Pokemon.

As such, time for a d2

1) 7th Pokemon
2) Challenge an experienced trainer

92 - Pasio Native Trainer (3 on 3 triple battle)

The gym is also found as thanks to Willow's work, the normal DC50 was brought down to DC25 which was then reduced further by Violet and Willow working together as well as their various special traits.

Violet pulled out her water bottle and forced herself to take slow, shallow sips from it to avoid feeling nauseous. Beside her, Willow blew into a whistle, the high-pitched sound audible for miles that acted as a signal for her Pokemon to return. The two of them had been exploring the Cinnabar Island volcano for two days in search of the hidden gym. With Willow confident that it wasn't anywhere in the city (she had searched through it for days at this point), it left them with the volcano to search.

It was exhausting, more so than her prior hikes through mountain paths. It admittedly had been a while since she had a proper hike through elevated terrain, but it wasn't just the grade of the hill that was a challenge. The volcano, while currently inactive, radiated heat. Violet estimated it was over 20 degrees hotter here than it would be in the city itself.

By now, Violet had long since put her hat in her pack. Her hair was a mess, coated with sweat and ash. She was glad that her clothes were easy to wash, they'd certainly need it after this trip. Besides her, Willow was handling the hike and heat moderately better than her, although she still looked like a mess. Her rival's habit of trying to outrun her Pokemon had done wonders for her endurance.

A few minutes passed until Willow's Umbreon and Heracross returned. Even after spending weeks together, Violet was surprised at the sheer difference in personality and behavior between her Umbreon and Willow's. Where the former was reserved and calculating, the latter was extroverted and outgoing. "That's another sector ruled out," Willow said after a brief conversation causing Violet to groan.

"...It can't be in the volcano," Violet muttered, trying to imagine the sheer absurdity of having a gym inside a volcano that still periodically erupted. "Right?"

"Maybe it's at the top?" Willow mused, gesturing towards the caldera of the volcano. "There could be an alcove somewhere there."

"Maybe?" Violet said in a tone that conveyed neither agreement nor disagreement. "There was that odd lava tunnel we saw." During their exploration of the volcano, the two of them discovered a tunnel that led into the volcano itself. Unsurprisingly, the two of them agreed that trying to enter an unmapped tunnel in a volcano was a poor idea.

"Can you navigate it?" Willow asked seriously, "You've been caving before, and still have your gear."

Violet spent a moment considering it, she could manage it if she was alone, but Willow lacked the same caving experience as her. "...If there's no branches or drops I can." Violet eventually said.

Willow grinned. "In that case, lead the way." She added a flourish with her arm, gesturing for Violet to lead the way.

A few hundred feet into the lava tunnel, Violet quickly realized that they were on the right track. Pointing out a seemingly random section of the cave wall, she briefly explained to Willow that a Pokemon had melted them into place. Then the two of them noticed an unexpected smell of grass.

Then, following a turn, the two of them saw a trainer around their age trying to get through a door. "Skeledirge, hit it again!" She called out, ducking behind the protective screen set up by a Meowscarada.

Immediately, Violet and Willow released Blissey and Bronzgong before shouting. "Protect!"

A second later, a Fire Blast detonated in the enclosed area, further boosted by setting the grass from Meowscarada's Grassy Terrain. Violet instinctively shielded her eyes from the light and heat, her heart racing in the moment.

On the other side of the tunnel, the other trainer peeked out from behind her Meowscarada. "Whoa, that's bad timing," she said with a cheeky smile, brushing ash off her black tank top. "Those are some crazy reflexes though."

Willow took a cautious step forward, glancing at Skeledirge as if another Fire Blast was incoming. "Maybe don't use Fire Blasts in an enclosed area?" Meanwhile, Violet was distracted by a stray thought. Which was followed by immediately checking her oxygen monitor. Thankfully it indicated that the tunnel did have ventilation of some sort.

The other trainer laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "I was just, uh, knocking. …Enthusiastically."

"You were going to collapse the tunnel," Willow interjected, pointing towards the glowing rock near the reinforced door.

"No risk, no reward," the trainer replied with a wide grin. "So, are you two challengers or gym attendants? Cuz this door is locked."

Violet internally groaned as she looked at the door in question, noticing a series of well-hidden switches as well as an extensive script in an unknown language. They'd have to spend days trying to figure out the script. Or they could try and scale the caldera, as based on her internal map, they were rather close to it. Thankfully Willow kept up the conversation on her own. "Well, what have you tried so far?"

The trainer sighed, blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face. Along with quite a bit of soot. "Skeledirge has done his best, but this door is something else."

"He does look pretty tough," Willow commented.

"Speaking of tough, how about a battle?" The other trainer clapped her hands together, "I, Aria, challenge you to a battle!"

Willow blinked as Aria pointed not to her but to Violet. Taking a step away from Violet as if to confirm her suspicions, the other trainer continued to point at Violet who hesitantly asked. "...why me?"

"No real reason," Aria lied, looking at Violet as if looking upon a challenge to conquer. "You just seem like a challenge." Her grin widened, a spark of excitement in her eye.

"And I'm not?" Willow interjected, the irritation clearly present in her voice.

"...uh," Aria stated eloquently as she realized just how she sounded. "I can fight you afterward?"

Willow sighed, visibly bristling at being the afterthought in this situation. "Forget it, I'll just sit and watch."

Violet's eyes flashed in irritation, fully planning on taking advantage of the lack of defensive moves she could see among Aria's team. A Meowscarada, Skeledirge, and Blastoise versus her own team of three for a triple battle. It'd be interesting at least.

Pick 3

[] Dragonair
[] Forretress
[] Blissey
[] Magneton
[] Umbreon
[] Gengar