Voting is open
Kanto Week 19 Part 2 - So Close
Send Out: Magnemite
Stance: Reckless
Battle Strategy: Use Supersonic to disorient Gligar if possible before using Gyro Ball repeatedly.

Magnemite and Gligar sat at opposite ends of the arena, while their trainers looked each other up and down seeking insight into their plans. Violet could hear Flynn faintly whispering to Gligar, providing orders well before the battle started while keeping his voice low enough that the young girl couldn't hear it properly. Yet body language told another story, as Violet caught the faint hint of an enthusiastic expression on Gligar followed by forced casualness. It reminded her of some of Magnemite's plots, where they would pretend to do one thing before doing another.

As she was thinking it over, the referee indicated the battle was about to start, leading Violet to give Magnemite some advice. "You have to rely on Gyro Ball," she unenthusiastically stated. It wasn't ideal, but it was one of the few choices available to her.

If she truly wanted to win, she likely would have used Chansey. But that wasn't what this fight was for. This fight was for Magnemite and Gligar so the two of them could improve their battling skills. The Fly Scorpion Pokemon was quick and tough, a combination she hadn't dealt with before. Supersonic would be difficult to hit, but if Flynn tried a poorly practiced move Magnemite may have a chance to land it. But it would only be a chance.

The referee signaled for the battle to begin, and Gligar rose into the air. Diving towards Magnemite, all indications seemed ready for a brutal opening series of rapid Acrobatics. Then Violet whispered so that only Magnemite could hear. "It's Sand Attack."

The Magnet Pokemon closed their eye just as Gligar dove prematurely, ripping sand from the ground and throwing it at Magnemite. A dirty crust formed, but if they hadn't been forewarned it would have been far worse. Magnemite spun rapidly a moment later, sadly far too late to have a chance of hitting.

Gligar suddenly sped up, a clear sign of using Quick Attack. "Acrobatics," Violet warned, noticing the faint disparity as Gligar switched moves, slamming into Magnemite and forcing the Magnet Pokemon to abort a second attempt at Gyro Ball.

"Don't fake it this time," Flynn declared with a frown. His voice was calm and collected, a notable change from his usual nervous demeanor. Then he added a second sentence quietly enough that Violet couldn't hear, but it was enough to confirm her suspicions.

"It's not an attack," Violet realized, "Magnemite, step into it!"

The Fly Scorpion Pokemon darted forward, using Sand Attack once more. But Magnemite had been ready this time and stepped into the attack. A foolish choice had it been any other attack, but in this case, it worked well.

The Magnet Pokemon spun, steel-type energy coating their frame with only a moment of preparation needed. Yet, that moment was enough for Gligar to begin flying upwards as fast as possible after coating Magnemite with yet another layer of sand, further degrading their sight and aim.

Gligar dived downwards once more, dragging his claws into the ground in a move Magnemite was sure was Sand Attack. Stepping into it once more, Violet suddenly shouted, "Magnemite that's not Sand Attack!"

It was too late, as Gligar suddenly accelerated, striking with Quick Attack hard enough to throw the Magnet Pokemon across the arena. "Don't let up," Flynn calmly ordered, "Keep up the deception for now."

Gligar's tail rose, but Violet knew better. Poison Sting on a Steel type? Really? "Sand Attack," she forewarned, allowing Magnemite to roll and prevent the coating of sand from being worse than it was. Yet, the Magnet Pokemon was still reeling from the previous blow, slowly getting to their metaphorical feet even as Gligar struck with another Acrobatics before switching to another Quick Attack.

However, the second attack was something Violet saw coming. Magnemite may be too slow to dodge or mitigate the damage, but there was something he could do. "Meet it! Tackle!" She yelled, surprising herself with her volume.

The two Pokemon clashed, and for the first time, Gligar came out of the exchange worse than Magnemite due to their steel frame. "Keep on it!" Violet heard Willow shout from the crowd, and she had no intention not to.

Still trying to right himself in the air, now was the perfect chance for Magnemite to land a blow. "Hit him hard Magnemite!"

"Go through them Gligar!" Flynn shouted as well, and Gligar immediately understood what he had to do. Scraping a claw on the ground to gain some degree of control, the Fly Scorpion Pokemon then forced himself forward through the use of his wings, voluntarily clashing with Magnemite head-on, Acrobatics versus Gyro Ball.

Once more, Gligar came out of the exchange with more damage, but the attack had launched them into the air where Flynn could take a moment to reevaluate the situation.

"So, feints aren't working…" Violet heard him mutter. "Gligar, full evasive."

The Fly Scorpion Pokemon began to dart through the skies, interspersing their movements with Quick Attack and Acrobatics. Trying to hit him now would be entirely luck-based, and based on Magnemite's halting movements, they didn't have much stamina left. "Take a moment Magnemite." Violet shifted her hat as she chose the only option that made sense. "Catch your breath while you can."

The Magnet Pokemon complied, tracking Gligar through the skies but making no move to attack or dodge. Instead, they simply rested for several seconds as a lull in the battle began. "So that's how it is…" Flynn muttered with a frown. "In that case, Gligar, Acrobatics, Acrobatics, Acrobatics!"

Dashing through the air, the Fly Scorpion Pokemon accelerated, darting in and out of Magnemite's range repeatedly. Left, right, front, back, above, each approach came from a different, unpredictable location. Violet's eyes darted through the skies, trying to track the unpredictable path and sometimes succeeding. "Magnemite, just keep trying to hit him. I believe in you!"

The Magnet Pokemon's eye narrowed as they spun and spun and spun. Steel energy was constantly used, the sheer exertion involved forcing them to rapidly begin to slow down. And yet, Gligar landed Acrobatics after Acrobatics, slowly but surely whittling down Magnemite with scratches and dents beginning to appear across their entire frame.

But despite the constant barrage of attacks, despite the significant speed advantage held by Gligar, neither Magnemite nor Violet gave up. Gyro Ball was used constantly, and eventually, luck turned against Gligar.

Guessing the Fly Scorpion's approach correctly, Magnemite spun clockwise with a slight upwards tilt. Meeting the Acrobatics head-on, they only half-heard the cheer of the crowd as the Magnet Pokemon spun with the hit, using Gligar's speed against him. The Fly Scorpion Pokemon bounced once, then twice across the ground, skittering to a halt before struggling to stand.

"Dig deep Magnemite! Just one more hit!" Violet yelled. "Don't bother with Gyro Ball, use Tackle!"

"Get in the air Gligar! Hurry!" Flynn ordered a nervous expression coloring his once calm demeanor.

It was rare to use Tackle at any level past the first gym badge. Often outclassed by other moves in potency and breadth, Tackle at its core was a basic move that was meant to be moved past. But in this situation where Gligar was just barely hanging on by a thread, it was the best move available.

Despite their clear exhaustion, Magnemite forced themselves to move. A picture-perfect Tackle was used, and if it hit, Gligar was done for.

It didn't land.

It wasn't a matter of inches that decided it, Gligar had simply recovered too quickly for that. Instead, the move was avoided with a comfortable margin to spare as Gligar rose into the air for one last Acrobatics.

Magnemite met it head-on, one last gamble that maybe the damage could be mitigated and they could land a final blow. At this point, both Pokemon had been pushed to the very edge of their limits, and each one was a step away from fainting.

Yet there would be no miracle, and after one last exchange, a heavily injured Gligar panted as he stood over the defeated Magnemite.

*Magnemite upgrades Health to C--*
*Magnemite upgrades Stamina to D+*
*Magnemite upgrades Attack to C--*
*Magnemite upgrades Defense to B-*
*Magnemite upgrades Speed to D*
*Magnemite upgrades Tackle to C++*
*Magnemite upgrades Gyro Ball to C*
*Magnemite upgrades Stamina to D+*
*Magnemite learned Screech at D++*

The Twentieth Week, Pick 2

Pokemon Actions

[-] Catch a fifth Pokemon - Now that your team has its core members, a fifth and sixth member would be useful and have more possible options. However, it's still quite early for that. Locked.
[] Train with your Pokemon - All of your Pokemon are skilled in battle with unique skills. Several of them are near breakthroughs so training would help considerably.
[] 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's Pokemon - While it would be nontraditional to train with your rival, both of you have unique skill sets that could complement each other. Unfortunately, Willow is busy this week.
[] Meet with Flynn - You were so close to winning last time, and some of the tricks he tried are giving you ideas. He seems to be the type to help you with your ideas.

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 two badges, beating them may be a good experience.

Exploration Actions

[] See the Sights Inside the City - There are a number of interesting attractions in Vermillion City. The port is rather interesting and holds a fair few internationally-themed attractions.
[] Explore the Boats - A few boats from various regions are currently docked. Most of them have a policy of allowing trainers onboard to challenge others. It may be fun to check out the area.
[] See the Sights Outside the City - With Diglett Cave nearby, it could be fun to spend a few days exploring the cave system and see what interesting locations and Pokemon are within.
[] Explore Unorthodox Locations - There is a lighthouse nearby that's seldom visited. Spending a day or two to visit could be interesting.

Traveling Actions

[] Travel to Saffron City - Heading to Saffron City would let you work towards challenging Sabrina. However, your parents would drive to visit you, and you would have to meet them. Tetsuya is also here.
[] Travel to Celadon City - Celadon City is rather nearby, and you do have plans on challenging the Gym Leader. That being said, you would have to meet your parents at home.
[] Travel to Fuchsia City - It's a longer trip than the others due to the lack of towns along the way, but it would make for a fun experience.
[] Travel to Cinnabar Island - There are a number of ferries to Cinnabar Island, which would let you fight one of the more remote gyms now rather than later.
[] Travel to Write-in - There are many locations in Kanto one could take a direct route towards.

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 up your parents - Your parents are very curious about your new traveling companion and would like to ask about Willow.
[] Call Tetsuya - An old childhood friend of yours, the two of you drifted off recently. He is currently preparing to take on the Saffron City Gym and has spent several days constantly battling.
[] The Hotel - The Hotel Flynn had tickets for is very, very fancy. A four-star resort it'd be fantastic to just relax with your Pokemon and Willow.
[] Willow's Battle - Willow feels ready to take on the Vermillion City Gym. She attended your match with Flynn, it'd be good for you to see how she battles with her full team.

Round 1 Gligar: Gligar feints Acrobatics. Gligar used Sand Attack (DC1: Autosuccess). Magnemite's accuracy decreased!
Round 1 Magnemite: Magnemite used Gyro Ball (DC70: 17). Gligar avoided the attack.

Round 2 Gligar: Gligar feints Quick Attack. Gligar used Acrobatics (DC1: 59). Magnemite lost 9% of its HP (91%).
Round 2 Magnemite: Magnemite used Gyro Ball (DC70: 15). Gligar avoided the attack.

Round 3 Gligar: Gligar feints Quick Attack. Gligar used Sand Attack (DC1: Autosuccess). Magnemite's accuracy decreased!
Round 3 Magnemite: Magnemite used Gyro Ball (DC75: 73). Gligar avoided the attack.

Round 4 Gligar: Gligar feints Sand Attack. Gligar used Quick Attack (DC1: 98). A Critical Hit! Magnemite lost 8% of its HP (83%).
Round 4 Magnemite: Magnemite used Gyro Ball (DC75: 11). Gligar avoided the attack.

Round 5 Gligar: Gligar feints Sand Attack. Gligar used Acrobatics (DC1: 46). Magnemite lost 9% of its HP (72%).
Round 5 Magnemite: Magnemite used Gyro Ball (DC75: 55). Gligar avoided the attack.

Round 6 Gligar: Gligar feints Poison Sting. Gligar used Sand Attack (DC1: Autosuccess). Magnemite's accuracy decreased!
Round 6 Magnemite: Magnemite used Gyro Ball (DC80: 2). Gligar avoided the attack.

Round 7 Gligar: Gligar feints Quick Attack. Gligar used Acrobatics (DC1: 38). Magnemite lost 9% of its HP (63%).
Round 7 Magnemite: Magnemite used Gyro Ball (DC80: 41). Gligar avoided the attack.

Round 8 Gligar: Gligar feints Acrobatics. Gligar used Quick Attack (DC1: 35). Magnemite lost 4% of its HP (59%).
Round 8 Magnemite: Magnemite used Tackle (DC65: 78). Gligar lost 6% of its HP (94%).

Round 9 Gligar: Gligar feints Sand Attack. Gligar used Acrobatics (DC1: 48). Magnemite lost 9% of its HP (50%).
Round 9 Magnemite: Magnemite used Gyro Ball (DC80: 91). Gligar lost 23% of its HP (71%).

Round 10 Gligar: Gligar used Acrobatics (DC1: 79). Magnemite lost 9% of its HP (41%).
Round 10 Magnemite: Magnemite used Gyro Ball (DC80: 12). Gligar avoided the attack.

Round 11 Gligar: Gligar used Quick Attack Defensively (DC1: Autosuccess). Gligar's evasiveness increases by 10 this turn.
Round 11 Magnemite: Magnemite took a moment to rest.

Round 12 Gligar: Gligar used Quick Attack Defensively (DC1: Autosuccess). Gligar's evasiveness increases by 10 this turn.
Round 12 Magnemite: Magnemite took a moment to rest.

Round 13 Gligar: Gligar used Acrobatics (DC1: 29). Magnemite lost 9% of its HP (41%).
Round 13 Magnemite: Magnemite used Gyro Ball (DC80: 81). Gligar lost 23% of its HP (48%).

Round 14 Gligar: Gligar used Acrobatics (DC1: 40). Magnemite lost 9% of its HP (32%).
Round 14 Magnemite: Magnemite used Gyro Ball (DC80: 15). Gligar avoided the attack.

Round 15 Gligar: Gligar used Acrobatics (DC1: 53). Magnemite lost 9% of its HP (23%).
Round 15 Magnemite: Magnemite used Gyro Ball (DC80: 15). Gligar avoided the attack.

Round 16 Gligar: Gligar used Acrobatics (DC1: 79). Magnemite lost 9% of its HP (12%).
Round 16 Magnemite: Magnemite used Gyro Ball (DC80: 95). A Critical Hit! Gligar lost 46% of its HP (2%).

Magnemite's Stamina increases to D

Round 17 Gligar: Gligar used Acrobatics (DC1: 74). Magnemite lost 9% of its HP (3%).
Round 17 Magnemite: Magnemite used Tackle (DC65: 38). Gligar avoided the attack.

Round 18 Gligar: Gligar used Quick Attack (DC1: 97). A Critical Hit! Magnemite lost 3% of its HP (0%). Magnemite fainted!
 
Last edited:
[X] Willow's Battle - Willow feels ready to take on the Vermillion City Gym. She attended your match with Flynn, it'd be good for you to see how she battles with her full team.

[X] Travel to Cinnabar Island - There are a number of ferries to Cinnabar Island, which would let you fight one of the more remote gyms now rather than later.
 
Last edited:
[X] Travel to Saffron City - Heading to Saffron City would let you work towards challenging Sabrina. However, your parents would drive to visit you, and you would have to meet them. Tetsuya is also here.
[X] Willow's Battle - Willow feels ready to take on the Vermillion City Gym. She attended your match with Flynn, it'd be good for you to see how she battles with her full team.

Let's be a good friend and go cheer Willow on like she's done for us. We know that's the real reason you wanna go Violet you don't need to make excuses about scoping out your rival.
 
[X] Travel to Saffron City - Heading to Saffron City would let you work towards challenging Sabrina. However, your parents would drive to visit you, and you would have to meet them. Tetsuya is also here.
[X] Willow's Battle - Willow feels ready to take on the Vermillion City Gym. She attended your match with Flynn, it'd be good for you to see how she battles with her full team.
 
It's interesting how our team has begun to develop distinct flaws in their combat styles as the quest has progressed, and the caliber of opponents we're facing has increased with the exception of Chansey due to our excessive use of her in our battles since acquiring her leaving her quite well rounded.

For Dratini his weakness is his lack of damage as although he has decent base stats overall, a decent move pool that covers both attack categories, and a sufficiently broad variety of attack types to fulfill his role as a bulky physical/mixed sweeper. He presently lacks any powerful moves to go along with his decent stats or sufficiently high stats to overcome his present lack of strong moves which holds him back notably at present in comparison to other Pokemon of the same level.

By contrast, Pineco doesn't lack in any singular area in particular that's holding her back from fulfilling her role in the team so much as she at present lacks an identifiable role in the team at all on account of Magnemite taking over her role as the physical wall of the team with his superior stats and better typing more than making up for a lack of Protect at present. She still has her identity as our anti-hazard Pokemon of course but no one at our present level has unlocked hazards yet unless they buy a TM for them making them quite rare meaning she plays second fiddle in every possible role to our other Pokemon outside of stall breaking through Explosion.

And, last but not least Magnemite who has great offensive stats overall, decent defensive stats now, has a distinct identity in the form of our bulky special sweeper just as Dratini is our bulky physical sweeper, and he's even well-trained in the moves he regularly uses. But at present, he lacks coverage knowing only electric-type special moves giving him a relatively small pool of Pokemon he can actually effectively hit with that massive special attack stat.

They're all relatively easy issues to fix at least with for example Dratini's issue being fixable with one strong dragon-type move from an HM such as Dragon Rush, Outrage, Draco Meteor, or Dragon Dance as dragon-type moves have so few resistances he doesn't really need to care overly much about coverage well at the same time these moves have such high base-power that they should enable him to easily become a strong sweeper again especially with Magnemite to cover his bad type match-ups. And, if he gets Dragon Dance instead of a direct attacking move that's fine as well as he can just set up on weaker Pokemon using his natural bulk before sweeping using his inflated stats.

Pineco is slightly harder but even just learning Spikes would do her a world of good as from then on we'd pretty much always lead off with her in battles to set hazards up meaning if nothing else she'd always have an identity in the form of being our hazard setting lead. All the better though if she can reclaim her status as our physical wall through learning moves such as Rest, and Sleep Talk to give her that edge over Magnemite in bulk though.

Magnemite is in much the same boat as Dratini where all he needs is to learn a singular move to resolve most of his issues as if he were to learn any even decently powerful special steel-type move at that point the only type that still resists his offensive capabilities would be electric types who Pineco can deal with. Once again in similarity to Dratini though the only real way he can get such a move in the near future is from an HM, and really his only option is Flash Cannon.

I'm almost certain we can beat the third gym with our team at present unless we choose a really bad matchup but whenever we move to the next city to start the process of beating the third gym we're going to want to start patching up these issues through HM purchase actions, and training actions. Probably starting with Pineco to give us more reasons to use her outside of specifically to counter psychic types or explode on a random Pokemon before moving on to Dratini to bring him up to par and then Magnemite to cover his glaring weakness.
 
Last edited:
[X] Willow's Battle - Willow feels ready to take on the Vermillion City Gym. She attended your match with Flynn, it'd be good for you to see how she battles with her full team.

[X] Explore Unorthodox Locations - There is a lighthouse nearby that's seldom visited. Spending a day or two to visit could be interesting.

Want to see the sighta before we go
 
It's interesting how our team has begun to develop distinct flaws in their combat styles as the quest has progressed, and the caliber of opponents we're facing has increased with the exception of Chansey due to our excessive use of her in our battles since acquiring her leaving her quite well rounded.

That's a pretty spot-on analysis of your Pokemon and how they can be improved significantly. I will say that based on your various Pokemon you are at the point where you could take on a three-badge fight, barring poor matchups or if the gym leader doesn't like you and goes extra hard.

Additionally, while this isn't relevant right now, you've also just been exposed to some more advanced battle tactics, namely the use of feints to try and get the other Pokemon and trainer to do something suboptimal. I will say that you have quite the advantage with Violet's eyes effectively being able to see through them. Feints can be nasty if you fall for them, even if attempting them is a notable drain on stamina over the norm.
 
[X] Explore Unorthodox Locations - There is a lighthouse nearby that's seldom visited. Spending a day or two to visit could be interesting.
[X] Travel to Saffron City - Heading to Saffron City would let you work towards challenging Sabrina. However, your parents would drive to visit you, and you would have to meet them. Tetsuya is also here.
 
That's a pretty spot-on analysis of your Pokemon and how they can be improved significantly. I will say that based on your various Pokemon you are at the point where you could take on a three-badge fight, barring poor matchups or if the gym leader doesn't like you and goes extra hard.
I will say that each Pokemon also gets good value out of swapping some of their moves around through a training action. For example, Dratini would get a lot of use out of Agility in exchange for Water Gun unless we pick up Dragon Dance, Pineco would see good value in replacing Tackle with Rollout, and Magnemite would benefit from swapping Tackle for Thunder Wave.

Unrelated to the above I have a few questions.

1. I can't recall but do you use the priority hierarchy for moves?
2. And do you maintain the rule of wrap automatically applying for the remainder of its duration to any Pokemon that are swapped in?
Additionally, while this isn't relevant right now, you've also just been exposed to some more advanced battle tactics, namely the use of feints to try and get the other Pokemon and trainer to do something suboptimal. I will say that you have quite the advantage with Violet's eyes effectively being able to see through them. Feints can be nasty if you fall for them, even if attempting them is a notable drain on stamina over the norm.
Magnemite with their prankster nature, and Dratini with his showmanship should be quite good at feints considering how those should both play into making them better actors so this tactic could be quite a powerful one for our team. Also, I'm not gonna lie having the equivalent of an open team sheet for everyone we face well all our opponents are operating on closed team sheets is the biggest cheat power in Pokemon battles ever.
 
[X] Willow's Battle - Willow feels ready to take on the Vermillion City Gym. She attended your match with Flynn, it'd be good for you to see how she battles with her full team.

[X] Explore Unorthodox Locations - There is a lighthouse nearby that's seldom visited. Spending a day or two to visit could be interesting.
 
[X] Willow's Battle - Willow feels ready to take on the Vermillion City Gym. She attended your match with Flynn, it'd be good for you to see how she battles with her full team.

[X] Travel to Cinnabar Island - There are a number of ferries to Cinnabar Island, which would let you fight one of the more remote gyms now rather than later.
 
I will say that each Pokemon also gets good value out of swapping some of their moves around through a training action. For example, Dratini would get a lot of use out of Agility in exchange for Water Gun unless we pick up Dragon Dance, Pineco would see good value in replacing Tackle with Rollout, and Magnemite would benefit from swapping Tackle for Thunder Wave.

Unrelated to the above I have a few questions.

1. I can't recall but do you use the priority hierarchy for moves?
2. And do you maintain the rule of wrap automatically applying for the remainder of its duration to any Pokemon that are swapped in?

Magnemite with their prankster nature, and Dratini with his showmanship should be quite good at feints considering how those should both play into making them better actors so this tactic could be quite a powerful one for our team. Also, I'm not gonna lie having the equivalent of an open team sheet for everyone we face well all our opponents are operating on closed team sheets is the biggest cheat power in Pokemon battles ever.

1. Yep, it hasn't come up much besides Pineco's Protect but priority moves are a thing.
2. Right now no, while I could be convinced to change it, for the moment I think it's best not to make that a rule as otherwise it'd be unstoppable.

And I can confirm that Violet does have a massive leg up thanks to being able to just see the sheets she's working against. It's makes it a lot easier to plan things out.
 
Vote Closed
Alright, I'll be calling the vote here. Looks like you are going to be watching Willow's gym match. This match is a 4 vs 4, where Willow does manage to win, albeit it's a rather close fight overall. And now Violet has successfully figured out Willow's main strategies, which generally involve being very fast and very hard to hit. That and being very high energy.

As for the other winning option, that's currently a tie, so time for a d2

1 - Travel to Saffron City
2 - Explore Unconventional Locations
Scheduled vote count started by Daemon Hunter on Jul 15, 2024 at 8:56 PM, finished with 12 posts and 7 votes.

  • [X] Willow's Battle - Willow feels ready to take on the Vermillion City Gym. She attended your match with Flynn, it'd be good for you to see how she battles with her full team.
    [X] Travel to Saffron City - Heading to Saffron City would let you work towards challenging Sabrina. However, your parents would drive to visit you, and you would have to meet them. Tetsuya is also here.
    [X] Explore Unorthodox Locations - There is a lighthouse nearby that's seldom visited. Spending a day or two to visit could be interesting.
    [X] Travel to Cinnabar Island - There are a number of ferries to Cinnabar Island, which would let you fight one of the more remote gyms now rather than later.
Daemon Hunter threw 1 2-faced dice. Reason: Vote Tiebreaker Total: 1
1 1
 
Kanto Week 20 Part 1 - A Third Badge
[X] Willow's Battle - Willow feels ready to take on the Vermillion City Gym. She attended your match with Flynn, it'd be good for you to see how she battles with her full team.
[X] Travel to Saffron City - Heading to Saffron City would let you work towards challenging Sabrina. However, your parents would drive to visit you, and you would have to meet them. Tetsuya is also here.


Violet found herself busy over the next day. Taking Magnemite to the Pokecenter and ensuring their health was nerve-wracking. She had never had one of her Pokemon faint before, and while she had been logically prepared, emotionally it was another story. While Magnemite had been fine, waking up within a matter of seconds, their injured body was worrying for Violet, which led to her spending the day in the Pokecenter while Willow prepared for her battle with Lieutenant Surge.

"You did great Magnemite," she remembered saying, and that they had. They managed to take the battle down to the final seconds, where one more successful attack would have won the battle for Magnemite. Flynn and Willow both said as much, with the former giving her his number in case they were in the same area again. Overall, the battle had been successful in its goal, improving Violet's Pokemon substantially. She could already see results across the board. Magnemite was stronger, faster, tougher, more energetic, and he had figured out how to use Screech, albeit poorly.

Violet couldn't wait to see what else she could make possible.

The next day, she joined the crowd of watchers in the gym. Unlike most of those present, she had a poster similar to the one Willow had written for her. On it, she'd simply written "Go, Willow!" She'd immediately started to regret it when she saw several people look at her, and one tried to drag her into a conversation about how Surge was going to win easily. Violet chose to ignore them rather than respond, which only served to make them angrier until they eventually gave up.

Distracted as she was by her own nerves, Violet almost missed the start of the battle as Staryu faced one of Lieutenant Surge's Voltorbs. It was then that she began to dislike the gym trainer after hearing his comments on Staryu. "You haven't evolved that one yet? That's a mistake."

Willow clearly took offense to that, with the energetic trainer lowering her voice from her usual high-energy demeanor to one that was slightly quieter but sharper. "Don't you worry, Staryu will show you what they're capable of!"

Immediately flowing into a planned series of Rapid Spins, Minimizes, and Swifts, Staryu was clipped by Voltorb's Charge Beam before they were even able to react. Managing to use a single Rapid Spin before a Minimize, Lieutenant Surge immediately put a stop to it. "Self-Destruct." The detonation was a surprise to Willow, as it had barely been a few seconds since the fight started. This resulted in Staryu taking the entire hit head-on, leading to the fainting of both Pokemon. "I'm not saying Starmie could handle that, but they'd have been far more capable of it."

Violet really didn't like Surge anymore, and by the looks of it, neither did Willow who had narrowed her expression considerably. Both trainers sent out their next Pokemon, a Jolteon and Bronzor before the battle continued.

Jolteon was incredibly fast, Violet realized. Faster than any Pokemon she had seen before, the Lightning Pokemon practically danced across the arena without issue. But Willow had experience with fast Pokemon as a trainer, which allowed her to slow the battle down through the use of Confuse Ray before landing a series of brutal Gyro Balls with Bronzor.

"So, you do have a few tricks up your sleeve…" Surge commented with what sounded like a compliment. Returning Jolteon and sending out Raichu, the Mouse Pokemon was immediately ambushed by another Gyro Ball.

"What?" Willow asked. "You didn't think I'd just let you switch, did you?"

Violet smiled at the frown on Surge's face. "No, you just caught me off guard is all." Rolling his shoulders, the gym leader chose to adopt a new strategy. "Raichu, keep your distance."

The Mouse Pokemon followed the order immediately, refusing to allow Bronzor to get anywhere near him and forcing a long-ranged fight, one which Bronzor was poorly built for with their moveset. And so, Violet chose not to play. Switching to Eevee, the Evolution Pokemon was just barely able to evade the use of Thunder before closing the distance with Quick Attack.

Then Surge shook his head in disapproval, "Another unevolved Pokemon?" Returning Raichu to their ball, Surge lazily sent Jolteon back in. "Kid, there's no reason to hold off on evolving your friend there. You're just handicapping him for no reason."

Willow frowned, returning Eevee to his Pokeball and sending out Bronzor. "I don't really like you …"

Surge shrugged, returning Jolteon before sending Magnemite. "Look, you're not a bad trainer, but unless your Pokemon don't want to evolve, there's no reason not to."

Willow's frown deepened, she clearly didn't like Surge's tone, but he wasn't entirely wrong. Violet realized something similar in that moment, Starmie did have better moves and was generally more physically capable than Staryu. It was similar with Eevee and their evolutions as well. "I'll think about it," Willow said neutrally, although Violet knew that meant she was seriously considering it.

Returning Bronzor and sending in Heracross, Surge responded by switching in Jolteon, resulting in the Lightning Pokemon being clipped by Heracross' Aerial Ace. This time, however, neither trainer chose to switch, with both Pokemon going at it with brutal tenacity. A close-range skirmish followed with Quick Attacks, Aerial Aces, Thunder Waves, and Horn Attacks. It only ended with Jolteon's Double Kick being caught by Heracross' Counter where Jolteon fainted but Heracross was left standing.

Surge sent in Raichu, and Willow switched to Eevee where the Evolution Pokemon was able to use his superior speed to win the fight, leaving Surge with just Magnemite. Magnemite then managed to beat Eevee, albeit not without a few scratches. But Heracross was sent back in, managing to win the battle thanks to their type advantage.

Immediately beginning to cheer for her friend, Violet stood up and let out a small cheer that was drowned out by the rest of the crowd's clapping. Mentally hyping herself up, the shy girl took a deep breath, then cheered louder, this time making her voice audible over the din of the crowd. Willow heard her, giving her a thumbs up. Then Violet blushed as she realized most of the crowd was looking at her with amused expressions.

After Willow earned her third badge, the two girls spent the day in the Pokecenter before leaving for Saffron City. With the journey being relatively short, the two of them had ample opportunity to have fun with both themselves and their Pokemon.

Pick 2. These interactions will be written up, all are assumed to happen.

[] Willow - Willow is proud of her third badge but has been thinking over Surge's words. Adding your thoughts could be useful.
[] Dratini - It feels like it's been a while since the two of you interacted one-on-one. There's even a lake on the way you can play in!
[] Pineco - Pineco would like to be carried along the way, desiring to see the sights. While the two of you do so, it'd be good to just talk.
[] Chansey - The Egg Pokemon has had fun in recent weeks, often being used in battle. It'd be good to talk to her about what she wants in life.
[] Magnemite - The Magnet Pokemon has grown rapidly due to their battle with Gligar. It'd be good to get their perspective on matters.
 
[x] Willow - Willow is proud of her third badge but has been thinking over Surge's words. Adding your thoughts could be useful.

All our pokemon are unevolved too, so it'll be good to hear her opinion on the matter. On the other choice, which one have we unteracted with the least? I'm thinking Pineco, right?

edit: ok Pineco

[X] Pineco - Pineco would like to be carried along the way, desiring to see the sights. While the two of you do so, it'd be good to just talk.
 
Last edited:
[X] Willow - Willow is proud of her third badge but has been thinking over Surge's words. Adding your thoughts could be useful.
[X] Pineco - Pineco would like to be carried along the way, desiring to see the sights. While the two of you do so, it'd be good to just talk.

Surge is a dick but he's not wrong either. It's almost never a bad thing to evolve your Pokemon as early as possible as well there are a few edge cases where an earlier evolution has a highly important move at a higher level that its later evolutions don't have, none of Willow's Pokemon are those edge cases as Eevee's evolutions can learn every single one of its moves well the same goes for Starmie.

But if you're on level with the gyms when you challenge them only quick-to-evolve Pokemon or Pokemon that use items to evolve that you've specifically gone out of your way to acquire would have evolved by the time you challenge the third gym with most medium to slow to evolve Pokemon taking until the fourth gym or even between the fourth, and fifth gym to evolve as is the case for most of our team.
All our pokemon are unevolved too, so it'll be good to hear her opinion on the matter. On the other choice, which one have we unteracted with the least? I'm thinking Pineco, right?
Depends on what you mean by a lack of interaction. Does using it in battles count or only social actions? And, what about training actions? Because Magnemite and Chansey have had zero social actions since we captured them well Pineco, and Dratini have had plenty. But if we're counting battles and training actions then as well as social action we've definitely given the least attention to Pineco recently as the only thing she's done since Misty is act as swap bait in the tower, and blow up some fodder Rocket Grunts.

Meanwhile, Chansey and Magnemite have been the stars of our notable battles well Dratini played a notable role in our social actions.
 
Last edited:
Pineco looks around in bewilderment: "WTF??? I constantly faint by exploding myself??????? Does that mean nothing to this b-"

Weirdly enough I don't think Pineco has actually fainted thanks to Sturdy. She's been brought to 1 HP multiple times, but hasn't actually fainted from what I remember. That being said, she does think she deserves significant credit for those situations.
 
Pineco looks around in bewilderment: "WTF??? I constantly faint by exploding myself??????? Does that mean nothing to this b-"
I don't think big bro Dratini would appreciate Pineco finishing that sentence. And, if she did I don't think Sturdy would save her like it does from Explosion. :V
Weirdly enough I don't think Pineco has actually fainted thanks to Sturdy. She's been brought to 1 HP multiple times, but hasn't actually fainted from what I remember. That being said, she does think she deserves significant credit for those situations.
She enjoys blowing things up just as much if not more than we do it's not like we told her to use Explosion on those Rock Grunts after all she did that all on her own. Still, I suppose she does deserve some praise as such we shall graciously provide her with a certified Violet Head Pat Punch CardTM so that from now on she will be able to get free head pats to be redeemed at a time of her choosing after every battle where she truly makes the opposing trainer regret getting out of bed in the morning.

Truly we are a gracious trainer.
 
[X] Willow - Willow is proud of her third badge but has been thinking over Surge's words. Adding your thoughts could be useful.

As much as I do not disagree with Surge here, stones don't exactly come cheap here in the case of Staryu and possibly Eevee.

As for Eevee, getting her to an Espeon, Umbreon or Sylveon is standing proof of Willow's bonds of friendship and love with Eevee.
 
Last edited:
[X] Willow - Willow is proud of her third badge but has been thinking over Surge's words. Adding your thoughts could be useful.
[X] Dratini - It feels like it's been a while since the two of you interacted one-on-one. There's even a lake on the way you can play in!
 
[X] Willow - Willow is proud of her third badge but has been thinking over Surge's words. Adding your thoughts could be useful.
[X] Pineco - Pineco would like to be carried along the way, desiring to see the sights. While the two of you do so, it'd be good to just talk.
 
[X] Willow - Willow is proud of her third badge but has been thinking over Surge's words. Adding your thoughts could be useful.
[X] Pineco - Pineco would like to be carried along the way, desiring to see the sights. While the two of you do so, it'd be good to just talk.
Surge is a dick but he's not wrong either. It's almost never a bad thing to evolve your Pokemon as early as possible as well there are a few edge cases where an earlier evolution has a highly important move at a higher level that its later evolutions don't have, none of Willow's Pokemon are those edge cases as Eevee's evolutions can learn every single one of its moves well the same goes for Starmie.
In most cases the opposite is true:
-Pokemon learn moves earlier before they evolve, if you don't need the immediate power boost you're usually better off clearing out the learnset.
-Eevee specifically has excellent friendship evolutions that can't be forced.
-Most stone evolutions, like Surge's Raichu, lose out on learning most moves once they evolve. Yes, Surge's raichu canonically got screwed over from evolving too early.

You only really want to rush evolution if the early stage is crippled in some important way(e.g. pupa stages like metapod, helpless first stages like Abra) , or if narrative, the species specialty can only be used after evolving and you need more practice in the final form.

Otherwise waiting 10 levels to evolve usually turns out better more often than not.
 
Voting is open
Back
Top