A Journey of Two, a Pokemon Story

Alright, going to close the vote here. Looks like Dragonair and Blissey are locked in, with a tie between Umbreon and Gengar.

1. Umbreon
2. Gengar

Looks like the new Pokemon gets a shot at this.

Violet's initial idea was to use Forretress to clear out the Meowscarada and Blastoise before focusing on the Skeledirge. It would be quick and certain, an easy victory.

But it wasn't optimal.

Violet forced herself to take a breath and think. Blissey was a must due to the sheer value Life Dew provided, while Dragonair's knowledge of Fire Blast meant that he could remove the Meowscarda on his own. The last Pokemon would optimally be Umbreon due to his effectiveness against ghost types. But … Gengar had yet to battle …

She gripped the three Pokeballs in her hands and threw them underhanded. Flashes of red light led to the appearance of Blissey, Dragonair, and Gengar. This was then followed by Dragonair coiling around the other two, rising until his head touched the cave's ceiling. A pleased chirp echoed through the tunnel that was then followed by a cheer from Blissey.

"Let the battle begin," Willow said, notably quieter than she would normally be.

Violet felt her posture shift, her eyes studying her opponent even as her Pokemon leaped into action themselves. Dragonair shot forward with Meowscarada counter-charging, a faint hint of frost clinging to the Magician Pokemon. "Outrage on Blastoise," Violet called out, her plan swiftly changing as she spotted Blastoise withdrawing into his shell for a Shell Smash. "Blissey, intercept." Gengar didn't need any orders himself, already understanding his role to trade blows with Skeledirge.

A Triple Axel smashed into Blissey's Protect before Meowscarada cartwheeled off as a Fire Blast slammed into it next. Then Dragonair charged through the flames, Outrage causing Blastoise to roar in pain but remain barely standing. Then a Dark Pulse followed his movement, striking Skeledirge who briefly grunted at the blow.

Immediately, Aria issued a series of orders, which unfortunately for her, Violet had already preempted. "Hold the Protect up, Gengar, Sucker Punch."

A second Triple Axel slammed into Blissey's Protect, even as Gengar darted forward with incredible speed. His Sucker Punch preempted Blastoise's Wave Crash and caused the Shellfish Pokemon to faint. Dragonair launched himself passed Skeledirge's second Fire Blast to slam into Meowscarada, causing the Magician Pokemon to slide back but remain standing.

"Fire Blast," Violet ordered, a maw of flame darted towards Meowscarada who barely managed to backflip over it. A third triple axel lashed out, but Dragonair twisted in midair, avoiding all three blows by the barest of margins.

"Do it again!" Aria called out, excited to see her Meowscarada remove Dragonair from play.

"You're not looking at the right 'mon," Violet said louder than intended, causing Willow to glance at her and instantly realize the plan.

A second Fire Blast bloomed and struck Meowscarada causing the Magician Pokemon to faint. From the backlines, Blissey puffed herself up followed by Dragonair mimicking the sound of a clap with his tail.

The rest of the battle was rather straightforward with Blissey easily healing her Pokemon while Dragonair and Gengar constantly attacked Skeledirge until they fainted. After which Aria congratulated her on the win before notably avoiding a glaring Willow. Then the other trainer left for the Pokecenter.

*Dragonair improves Outrage from B– to B-*
*Dragonair is now very close to evolving*
*Blissey improves Fire Blast from C to C+*

Now Violet and Willow had to figure out a way to get through this door. The unknown script implied a puzzle where they would have to translate it then press the letters in the right order to spell out a four-letter word. Which gave them a few options on how to approach it.

[] Brute Force - Certain to work, but also certain to take a very long time. You estimate it would take a full week of trying various combinations of letters until it finally works.
[] Seek out the Language - Taking some pictures of the unknown script and returning to the Pokecenter will allow you to decode it somewhat easily. But it's possible that this leads to a riddle that's hard to solve.
[] Scale the Caldera - Circumventing the door and climbing through the caldera is a viable option. You would need special equipment for it, but Cinnabar Island has that. Willow is very enthusiastic about this option
[] Write-in

Alright, I'll be closing the vote here. Seems that using Gengar as a lockpick wins. Good news is that gets you through the door and into the gym, where you now have to face Blaine for the gym badge. And as for his first Pokemon, that's a Ninetails with these stats.

Initially, Violet resigned herself to heading back to the main city and seeking out the language. Then she remembered that Gengar could phase through walls as a ghost type. "Gengar," she said quietly. "Can you open the door?"

Gengar looked at her, momentarily surprised before he gave a devious grin. He held out a hand expectantly.

Violet sighed, "Will I have to bribe you every time?"

She handed over a candy bar, while Gengar simply nodded without an ounce of remorse. Returning to the door, he began to phase his hand through the door, slowly discerning the locking mechanism so he could unlatch it.

"Well, that's one way to solve a puzzle," Willow said with a grin, draping an arm across Violet's shoulders. "It feels a bit like cheating though."

"If this wasn't an intended solution, they'd have had a different test," Violet replied.

"But I really wanted to climb the caldera," Willow whined. "It would have been so cool!"

Violet couldn't help but softly smile at Willow's expression. "We could climb it afterward if you want?"

Chewing on the inside of her lip, Willow mentally calculated how much time they had. "Two weeks for Fuchsia, two for Saffron, and extra in between…" She muttered. "With the training I'd need to do, I don't know if I have the time for it."

"We've had a busy few weeks," Violet commented. It seemed that traveling, the Cage Balls, and the gym battles had prevented her from seeing the sights or exploring as she wished. Willow herself had been focused on training and gyms, which left her in a similar boat where she lacked adventure.

"After the Plateau, I kind of want to just explore yanno?" Willow said, gesturing with her hand to emphasize her point. "There's so much I wanna see and do, so it'd be nice to not have to worry about badges for a bit."

"The Rock Tunnel was fun," Violet added, a nostalgic smile crossing her face as she remembered her adventures in caving. It would have been better if she didn't have to worry about Team Rocket, but the amount of traveling she got to do in that region of Kanto would forever remain a core memory for her. "We could explore the Cerulean tunnels maybe?"

Significantly more dangerous than the Rock Tunnel, the Cerulean Tunnels were home to incredibly powerful Pokemon. It was a regional mystery as to why strong Pokemon seemed to be drawn to it as well as why wild Pokemon saw significant growth rates in the area. "That'd be fun," Willow said with a grin. "We could also cross the mountains to Pasio, or swim the ocean to the Sevil islands! Just imagine the possibilities."

Gengar called out, adding a pleased sound at the idea of visiting other regions.

"Just imagine all the different food!" Willow gestured towards Gengar, getting a thumbs up from him in approval.

"Don't give him ideas," Violet muttered, trying to sound serious but unable to hide her laugh entirely.

A few seconds later, Gengar stepped back and bowed. The door swung freely on its hinges, and the two girls were hit with a wave of hot air as it opened. Within, they found a Pokemon arena suspended over a pit of magma. Looking up, they saw the open skies through the maw of the caldera, and across the arena was the gym leader.

To Violet's eyes, Blaine was pleased that a set of challengers had made it to him. However, he hid it well, to the point that an ordinary individual would think he was annoyed at the interruption. "Whose Gengar is that?" The gym leader asked.

Violet raised a hand and stepped forward, not bothering to reply. Without a word exchanged between them, Willow stepped back allowing Violet to take the first battle with Blaine.

"No banter?" The gym leader asked, tilting his head to emphasize the point.

Adjusting her shirt to try and account for the heat in the arena, Violet felt sweat on her skin begin to form streaks in the ash and soot that coated her frame. She looked at Blaine who appeared unruffled by the heat and ash in the air. "No banter," Violet replied, her voice calm but firm.

Blaine raised an eyebrow, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Straight to the point, I can respect that." He reached for a Pokeball from the pocket of his coat. "This will be a three-on-three, a limit of 4 switches for each trainer. Are you ready?"

Violet replied by grabbing a Pokeball and tossing it in the air, and a moment later, Blaine replied with a Pokemon of his own.


Violet's Perceptive Trait Kicks in!

Blaine will open with Weather Ball unless he's able to knock out a Pokemon with a single hit from Flamethrower or Quick Attack. He'll then use Safeguard unless up against Dragonair where he'll use Will-O-Wisp. On round three he'll use Baton Pass to switch Magmortar in.

If Violet's Pokemon uses a non-damaging move, he'll have Ninetales use Encore.

[] [] [] [] Write-in

Alright, time for me to close the vote. It feels a little odd to do so with just one vote, but eh, I have a schedule to keep. As it is, congrats on getting your Dragonite.


For reference, here are Dragonite's new stats:

Health: B+ (116)
Stamina: B--
Attack: A--
Defense: B++
Special Attack: B
Special Defense: B
Speed: A+
Evasion: A

[X]
Gym Leader Blaine immediately knew his plan of attack the instant he saw Dragonair. A trainer opening up with their strongest Pokemon was uncommon in a battle against fire types, but the ability to negate status conditions with Shed Skin resolved that issue. His plan was simple, set up the field for Magmortar and ensure he has the best conditions possible to work with.

Violet, however, would have been able to predict the gym leader's plan even if his microexpressions made it obvious that Ninetales wasn't meant to last long. Dragonair himself understood it as well, launching himself forward the instant the battle began. Outrage slammed into Ninetales, causing the Fox Pokemon's head to snap back even as her tails flailed from the force of the blow. Despite being on her last legs after a single blow, Ninetails still managed to do her duty as her tails worked in unison to shape a Weather Ball that flew high into the air. Bursting in incandescent light, Violet felt herself grimace as the heat from the magma grew more unbearable due to the blindingly bright sun that beat down upon the arena.

"Once more Dragonair," Violet ordered unnecessarily, for Dragonair had already shot forward. Locked into Outrage as he was, it wasn't a surprise that he remained on the attack, refusing to let Ninetales escape and return to the battle later. Despite Blaine calling for a Baton Pass earlier than he planned, hoping that either Ninetales could dodge or that she could use the move fast enough, the outcome was never in doubt. A second Outrage struck Ninetales, albeit one that wasn't as devastating as the prior blow, and the Fox Pokemon fainted.

A triumphant Dragonair chirped with pride, the sound echoing in the enclosed caldera. From the base of his tail to the tips of his ears, a white light began to creep up his body. Legs and arms began to form where there previously were none. His winglike ears moved towards his back even as his body grew in musculature and size. Mass appeared from nowhere as his tail grew in thickness while his body became bipedal.

And in the caldera, two wings beat as Dragonite rose into the sky admiring his newfound ability to fly.

*Dragonite learned Hurricane at E++/C++*

Dragonite looked back at Violet and waved happily, admiring his new hands. A thought came to him, and Violet's eyes widened. "Wait, we're in a b-"

Before she could finish, a happy Dragonite grabbed her and spun around. Rising slightly into the air as he did, Violet immediately began to feel dizzy. A moment later Dragonite put her back on solid ground and she took a slow, shaky step to regain her bearings. "...I'm going to have to go flying with you aren't I?"

Dragonite replied with a cheeky smile and a thumbs up before he attempted to perform an aerial backflip only to slam into the ground instead. Now with his smile wiped out and replaced with an embarrassed expression, he looked around for cameras and sighed in relief when he found none.

Violet on the other hand tried and failed to hide a laugh at Dragonite's antics. "I'm never going to forget that," she said with a smirk.

Dragonite's only response was a mortified expression.

With Dragonite's evolution, the battle was all but won. This gave Violet some pause on whether she should continue using the Dragon Pokemon or if she switch to one of her other Pokemon to help them gain some experience. With Magmortar up next, she did have a few options available to her.

Pick 1

[] Dragonite - Keeping Dragonite in will allow him to learn how to properly fly and adapt to his new body. Although that could also be done via standard training.
[] Forretress - While she'd almost certainly lose quickly, there are a few tricks you could try to drag it out giving her experience against type mismatches.
[] Blissey - Taking the battle from a rapid onslaught to a drawn-out stamina match would surprise Blaine, and Blissey could use some experience against opposing aces. Staying in this volcano for that long though will suck.
[] Magneton - Putting Magneton up against a major type mismatch, they would be pushed to their limits although unlike Forretress they only have one way to extend the battle.
[] Umbreon - While he has extensive experience facing other Pokemon, it would be useful to have him face a high-level Pokemon led by a skilled trainer.
[] Gengar - Still relatively inexperienced, he'd likely gain a fair bit from a challenging battle. But he did just fight in a battle exactly for that reason.