Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, I only own Violet Hawke as my OC.
Summary: Violet Hawke wanted nothing more than to be a Bug Pokemon Trainer, but with how people viewed those types all she got was ridicule until the day she bumped into the local Professor. Now on a journey, she tries to make her goal a reality, but with an Organization coming out of the shadows she has to decide just how much she's willing to risk to realize her goal.
Chapter 19: Cinnabar Island Part 2
Green grumbled as he was back in Pallet Town, using his Gramps Exeggcutor to get back with the Pokemon heading back to Cinnabar after dropping him off.
Currently he was at the lab, going through which Pokemon he was going to have with him, taking care to swap Raticate for Kadabra, giving him a bit of a break before doing the same with his Cloyster for Vulpix.
No sense in having two water Pokemon at once given how he needs to train Magikarp up to be a Gyarados and he had no plans to leave Sandslash in the lab, wanting a ground type to cover his electric weakness.
And he was keeping Pidgeotto because he was close to evolving and having a flying type was a must for a team.
So after careful consideration, he finished sorting through his Pokemon with Eevee, Pidgeotto, Kadabra, Sandslash, Magikarp and Vulpix.
He did consider grabbing his Ditto but decided not to for the moment.
He'll work with that one later.
So his next stop was the Route next to Rock Tunnel where he can get a Magnemite, he did plan on getting one earlier, but seeing how Surge utilized his Magneton made him realize just how useful that Pokemon could be, especially if he could train it to do what Surge's Magneton could.
Plus he needed some electric coverage and Magnetons were pretty tanky, so it would give him another bulky Pokemon along with his Cloyster.
His team did have a bit of a flaw when it comes to taking hits, Kadabra wasn't strong physically and will still be as vulnerable as an Alakazam, Eevee's specialty resulted in not being hit. Pidgeotto was strong but could be crippled easily. Magikarp will be strong defensive wise upon evolving but a good shock would take him out.
So having two or more Pokemon that can take a hit would be crucial if he wanted to win future battles.
… Perhaps he should train up at the Tower in Lavender Town, he might catch a Gastly there if he's lucky.
With a plan set in his mind, Green sent out Kadabra to teleport him to Cerulean City, not wanting to waste anymore time.
"Were you trying to get me killed?!" Violet asked after getting her team healed up, showing the key to Blaine who looked mildly surprised that she got it.
"Magmar knows when to hold back, he's a deterrent to keep tourists from challenging the Gym." Blaine retorted, remembering how annoyed he was at rarely getting good battles before doing that. "To be perfectly honest I figured you would've left it alone until a few more badges."
If she got the key that meant that she either distracted Magmar long enough to swipe it, or she defeated him.
And that made his blood boil with some anticipation.
It's not too often that happens, even if he would be using one of his weaker teams to battle her, he was itching to see how a team of bug types would handle a fire master such as himself.
Bug Trainers were always crushed around getting two badges, so for one to make it to him, that has never happened before unless they had bugs from the other regions.
So he grinned. "An outcome already written, fight it and you'll be smitten," He began, enjoying the annoyed look Violet was now sporting. "By it you may be blessed, or put up to the test. And take you places you have never guessed."
"What is with you and riddles?" Violet couldn't help but ask, earning a laugh from Blaine.
"We all have our hobbies, every trainer needs one to keep them going," Blaine told her, seeing her pause in thought. "While there's nothing wrong with just focusing on training your Pokemon, a trainer needs something to keep from losing themselves."
It was a thing that usually happens with trainers, it was why some of them become hermits that live away from civilization.
Violet pushed the advice away for the moment and thought about the riddle, but unlike the other times, she couldn't think of what it could be.
"I give up." Violet admitted defeat on this riddle.
Blaine seemed to expect that. "The answer is Destiny."
That confused Violet. "What does destiny have to do with anything?"
"Many would say the outcome to our battle is already written," Blaine revealed, referring to the typical bug versus fire match-up. "And many of them would be right as to fight like that is asking to be burnt."
That made Violet grit her teeth as she opened her mouth to defend her team, but Blaine continued before she could.
"You however might be the exception." Blaine crossed his arms, remembering the reports. "You faced things that many would've buckled under. Every fight you've been in tested your resolve and took you places that people couldn't even fathom."
Surviving Team Rocket, actually taking on some of Surge's strongest Pokemon. Meeting a Legendary Pokemon.
No one would expect that from a journey, much less for a ten year old to be involved in it.
So was it destiny that she made it this far? Did she have a role to play in the days to come?
Many would scoff at that motion, Blaine himself would've done that with no hesitation in his youth, being a man of science.
But he's seen some amazing and terrifying things in his decades as a trainer.
So he was a bit more open-minded than other scientists.
Violet slowly closed her mouth, not expecting that or how it did basically summed up her whole journey.
But she wasn't so sure about calling it 'destiny'. Just luck.
Good and bad luck.
"Still I think it's time we start the battle." Blaine said knowing he had to get back to work soon, so he might as well finish this up quickly. "Normally for a trainer with three badges, as rare as they are, I would use four Pokemon, but I can only see three Pokeballs on your belt, so I'll make it three-on-three."
With that said, Blaine pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, grinning at Violet's dumbfounded expression.
"What, you didn't really think I would leave the actual key in an abandoned mansion would you? I only want to test trainers, not leave my place open to being robbed." Blaine explained, walking in as Violet took a deep breath and entered behind him.
She needed to focus on the battle itself and she needed to try and think of which Pokemon he would use.
Would they be evolved or not?
What techniques will they know?
The moment she entered the Gym, Violet began to sweat from the heat that was inside there while Blaine seemed at home with it due to years of exposure. Though he did take the wig off to show his bald head.
No doubt this heat would help him immensely in battles, leaving for the challengers to be fighting with an unfair advantage, most likely to force them to try and come up with strategies to counteract it.
Makes sense given how some of the fields at the Indigo League were randomized at times.
Eventually they were at the battlefield, where heat vents were all around them, the vents filled with actual lava which explains the heat as Blaine made his way to the side he would be on, pressing a button on the wall to make a rack of Pokeballs come out, showing different teams for the amount of badges, grabbing three from the three badge section.
As he placed them on his belt, Blaine glanced towards Violet who was now in the trainers box on her side. "Hah, I guess you're ready, hope you have a burn heal for when I incinerate your Pokemon." He said with a smirk, gripping one Pokeball. "Now the rules for this battle are simple. Three-On-Three and only you can switch."
Violet frowned as she thought back to all of her Gym Battles, of how she never tried switching her Pokemon out, always sticking with her choices despite how sometimes it might've been for the best.
Perhaps she should try it this time?
So they both sent out a Pokemon with Violet starting off with Stinger while Blaine sent out a Growlithe.
Pulling out her Pokedex, Violet scanned it.
'Growlithe, the Puppy Pokemon. It has a friendly nature and is extremely loyal to its trainers, willing to do anything to defend them even against bigger and stronger foes. Current Level is 33. Gender: Male.'
So she had an advantage in terms of strength, but she couldn't be cocky.
After all she did defeat a Pokemon that outclassed her earlier so that was proof that levels weren't everything.
"Let's speed this up, Stinger try out Agility!" Violet ordered, remembering how the Pokedex told her that Stinger learned it.
Perfect chance to try it out.
As Stinger focused, showing how inexperienced he was in using it, Blaine reacted rather quickly. "Dragon Rage."
The Growlithe shot forward, blasting the blue draconic energy out of its mouth right at Stinger, breaking his concentration as he was sent back.
But he did manage to get a bit of a boost from the Agility.
"Using a new move without training it? Rather risky." Blaine said while Violet was surprised, not expecting Dragon Rage.
Sure it was a TM, but that came out of nowhere.
Still she got what she needed.
"Poison Sting on the field, keep moving don't let the Growlithe hit you again."
Stinger buzzed in agreement, moving faster than he did before, being a bit of a blur as he fired Poison Sting after Poison Sting on the field with Growlithe jumping and dodging them, but Blaine knew what she was doing.
She was trying to turn the tides by covering the field so any Pokemon he sends out would be poisoned.
Smart but futile.
"Use Dig." Blaine ordered in a curt manner, his fingers twitched weirdly with Violet blinking in confusion while the Growlithe listened and dug in there.
"Careful Stinger, he could be anywhere." Violet warned the Poison Bee Pokemon who looked around cautiously. "Agility again."
Might as well make him faster while it was busy.
As Stinger did that, Blaine let out a sharp whistle only for the ground beneath Stinger to explode, unleashing a Fire Blast that Stinger barely dodged, the blast destroying all of the poison needles on the ground, undoing Violet's work.
Taken aback, Violet was shocked at how Blaine ordered that just by whistling-wait his fingers twitching.
Was he doing sign language too?!
That was ingenious, he was ordering his Pokemon without talking, laying out a strategy without giving it away.
But what did the finger twitching mean?
Putting it in the back of her mind, she called out for Stinger to use Focus Energy before going in with a Pin Missile, the attack piercing the Growlithe only for it to disappear, showing that it was a substitute.
Something he most likely set up underground.
The moment the Substitute Growlithe disappeared, the real Growlithe shot out and grabbed Stinger with a Bite.
Seeing that, Violet wasted no time recalling him to send out Silk, taking advantage of the switching rule as Blaine's mustache twitched.
"That Beedrill is strong but limited, you need to work on his range and that agility a bit more." Blaine advised, knowing he wore it down and the agility boost was gone now.
But his Growlithe was also getting tired.
It wasn't like his Arcanine which can use Fire Blast continuously.
That combined with the Substitute left it at low energy.
So he gave another whistle, this one a higher pitch then the last, watching as the Growlithe began to use double-team.
"Twirl around and use Supersonic!" Violet ordered, the Butterfree listening with no hesitation as she flew up, spinning to use the move.
By doing that she increased the range of the move where it hit all of the 'copies' at once with them disappearing as the Growlithe stumbled, out of it.
"Now Psybeam!" Violet decided to try that move out, watching as the Growlithe hit itself in confusion, seeing that Blaine wasn't trying to do any more unique commands.
Doing a flip as she focused, Silk formed a ball of purple energy between her hands that expanded before firing into a beam right at the Growlithe, taking it out of the fight.
Returning the Growlithe, Blaine sent out his next Pokemon, being a Ponyta with Violet checking the Pokedex again as the cream colored equine Pokemon pawed at the ground, its flaming mane and tail flickering to show its strength.
'Ponyta, the Fire Horse Pokemon. Capable of jumping high into the air, its hooves and legs absorb the impact of a harsh landing. It's noted that its hooves are ten times stronger than diamonds and can trample anything in its path. Current level is 35. Gender: Female.'
Blaine let out another whistle as the Ponyta began to use Double Team, Embers shooting out at Silk, keeping her from using Supersonic in the process.
So Violet ordered Gust to blow the small embers away, but the Ponyta suddenly kicked off the ground, using her strong legs to leap into the air and deliver a double-edge on Silk, sending her flying back.
"Psybeam before it gets away." Violet focused to keep calm, knowing that losing focus would make things worse for her.
Thankfully Silk managed to tag the Ponyta with Psybeam, sending it flying, but it rolled with it and did a flip, landing on its feet before unleashing a Fire Blast that Silk used Gust on the ground to launch herself over it.
She then used Confusion to take a hold of the Fire Blast to send it back at Ponyta who absorbed it.
Oh great, it had Flash Fire.
Blaine just grinned at the mistake that Violet made while the fires on Ponyta burned brighter then ever before.
"Horn Drill." The Ponyta took off, becoming a blur thanks to the power up from her ability, giving Silk no time to dodge as the bug/flying was sent rolling across the ground before coming to a stop, knocked out.
Ponyta slid a hoof across the ground in anticipation while Violet returned Silk.
"Good deal of range on that Butterfree." Blaine complimented, watching to see if she would send out the Parasect or give Beedrill another try. "Plenty of ways to use its strengths, but its lack of versatility is very obvious. Nothing a few TM's won't fix though."
Violet gave a small nod to show that she heard, knowing that Blaine was critiquing her team's weak points.
If it made her a better trainer then she'll take them.
"Go Parasite." Violet sent out the Parasect, knowing that Stinger still needed some time to recover.
As the Parasect appeared, the Ponyta crouched, ready to fight.
Violet immediately ordered whack-a-mole, the Parasect diving straight into the ground with Blaine just calmly crossing his arms, watching as the bug Pokemon popped out randomly before diving back in, dodging the embers that Ponyta fired in response, one time unleashing a scratch as she jumped by.
It wasn't too hard to see what she was doing, so Blaine decided to finish this. "Fire Blast in one of the holes."
He wasn't even going to try and be subtle with this one.
The Ponyta neighed as she calmly approached one of the holes, preparing a Fire Blast, only for Parasite to actually lunge out of that hole and Body Slam the fire horse, unleashing a spore in the process, making her limbs lock up before the mushroom Pokemon unloaded with countless scratch attacks.
Finishing off with one more Body Slam that knocked the Ponyta out.
Blaine hummed as he returned the Ponyta, obviously not expecting that outcome due to the major disadvantage Violet had.
"Physically strong and fast despite her size, has a good selection of moves, but just like your Beedrill you need to work on her range." Blaine summarized, having a good idea on how each of her three Pokemon fight now.
Despite their obvious flaws, they each play into their strengths along with the strategies that Violet incorporates, it's not hard to see how she made it this far.
Now he was curious to see how well she would do against his actual team once she's gained enough strength.
But the battle had to continue, so Blaine sent out his last Pokemon that crouched on all four with reddish-orange fur, long ears with black interiors and black eyes, a tuft of yellow fur on top of its head along with a bushy tail that swished and a mane, both the same color as the tuft on its head.
Without a word, Violet scanned the new Pokemon.
'Flareon, the Flame Pokemon. When storing thermal energy in its body, its temperature can soar to 1600 degrees. It can also fluff out its fur collar to cool its body temperature down. Current Level is 36. Gender: Male.'
'Wait, so this is one of Eevee's evolutions?' Violet was amazed at actually seeing one, remembering how strong Green's Eevee was.
Putting the Pokedex away, Violet knew that Stinger was still tired and injured from the fight with the Growlithe and while Parasite was in better health, she still had to finish this quickly.
Thankfully, Flareons were pretty frail to physical attacks, it can tank a special move sure, but a physical one would be its downfall. Just like how a Vaporeon's strength was how many hits they can take and a Jolteon was the fastest of the three.
It got silent as both trainers were waiting for whoever made the first move, Violet finally noticing how much she was sweating as with the battle, the heat rose due to all of the fire attacks, it was enough for her clothes to stick to her skin and she was feeling a bit dehydrated.
No doubt it was worse for Parasite.
But they can overcome this.
Finally, Blaine let out a shrill whistle, this one an octave higher than the last one right when the Flareon unleashed a Fire Spin, forcing Parasite to dodge with dig.
Not wasting any time, Violet came up with a strategy. "Make the field collapse!"
She needed to hinder the Flareon as much as possible.
It wasn't the fastest Pokemon but with it being limited in how to move, that will make things easier in the long run.
"Mimic." Blaine smirked as the Flareon focused before diving into the ground after the Parasect, making Violet go on edge as both trainers couldn't see what was going on down there.
Fire erupted from one of the holes, showing a Fire Blast before dying down, an Ember shot out of a different hole a few seconds later.
It seemed that Parasect kept digging a new tunnel to dodge the attacks, sealing it behind her, but she could only do it for so long. And she can't focus on collapsing the field with this Flareon chasing her down.
And it was too dangerous to even try to Scratch or Body Slam without much room to move.
It did however begin to unleash pores of Stun Spore as she went through the new tunnels, knowing that the Flareon would be right behind her.
And it worked, the Flareon didn't expect them, his limbs almost locking up, but it didn't matter as it unleashed a Fire Blast, the spores igniting to cause an explosion, this time hitting the Parasect who was blasted out of the ground, hitting the ceiling before slamming into the ground unconscious and badly burnt.
The Flareon stepped out, panting to show how exhausted he was, especially since he used that Fire Blast to burn the stun spore away, ensuring that his paralysis was gone.
Violet returned Parasite, putting her in stasis so the burns wouldn't get worse while Blaine hummed in thought, knowing that she was down to her last Pokemon like he was.
Both were exhausted.
It could go either way.
And his blood was pumping right now.
"It's all up to you Stinger." Violet sent Beedrill out who managed to recover a little bit since he was recalled, taking to the air while the Flareon gritted his teeth and glared at the last opponent.
'Can't afford to use Agility, one hit and he could go down.' Violet thought, quickly going over the moves he did know. 'That leaves Rest out of the question, Harden won't work and Flareon can just burn the poison away like he did the stun spore-.'
It clicked.
'Of course, burning away the stun spore ate up a lot of energy.' Violet grinned as a plan came to mind. 'So if he keeps burning things up, he'll be too exhausted to fight.'
"Poison String, wrap that Flareon up!" Violet ordered, using a classic combo that Stinger was quite proficient in.
The Flareon dodged as the poisoned string shot went past the Pokemon, littering the ground before the Poison Bee began to fire more, covering the area around the Flareon who dodged and weaved around them.
'Clever.' Blaine saw through it immediately, knowing how exhausted his Flareon was.
"Trap it with Fire Spin." Blaine went to focus more on the Beedrill than the Poison String, knowing that doing that would ensure a victory.
But it seemed that even without the agility boost, the Beedrill was still pretty fast given how it flew around the flames, buzzing in agitation due to the heat it could feel from the attack before firing a Poison Sting, forcing the Flareon to dodge as the stingers stayed in the ground, firing more, both at the Flareon and around it, hoping that the flame Pokemon would mess up and step into one of its traps.
And eventually it did, its left upper paw landing on one of the stingers as the poison began to surge into him, his head drooping now.
There was no chance of him using flames to expel the poison now.
"Pin Missile." Violet ordered, using one of Stingers strongest attacks, as the Beedrill aimed its third stinger, energy shooting out of it right at the Flareon, hitting it dead on at least three times before he had to stop as the Pokemon fired one last Fire Blast in retaliation.
Thankfully he dodged and the Flareon collapsed, using up all of his energy with the poison sapping the last of his strength.
Blaine's mustache twitched in surprise at the outcome while Violet blinked.
S-She won?
Okay sure he didn't use fire Pokemon like Arcanine, Ninetales or Charizard, no doubt they would've destroyed her.
But she won against the fire trainer.
A victory she didn't expect because she wanted to push her team to their limits, which this battle provided, but winning wasn't the plan.
Can't say she's not unhappy about it though.
As if to agree, Stinger let out a cry of joy, flying down to land on Violet's hat, making her laugh.
Blaine meanwhile returned Flareon, a small smile on his face.
He could see why Surge went after her, she was getting strong fast.
And seeing how she was with her Pokemon, it reminded him of when he and his starter would always celebrate a win like that.
Just like that a small bit of bitterness flooded him as he remembered his old Arcanine.
A Pokemon that perished during the war.
He shook those thoughts from his head and approached Violet, holding out a red badge shaped like a flame with a pink diamond in the center. "Heh, you've burnt my team down to nothing, not even the ashes remain." Blaine said with Violet accepting the badge. "You've more than earned the Volcano Badge."
Violet looked at it before something else registered.
She had four badges.
She was halfway done with the Kanto Gym Challenge.
"Now I'm sure you're aware that some of the badges boost a certain trait of your Pokemon, the Volcano Badge boosts the special side of things." Blaine explained with Violet remembering that.
She still had no clue how that worked, but right now she didn't care.
Especially when Blaine handed over the TM38 also known as Fire Blast.
"Don't know how much use you'll get out of that, but it's the standard TM I give out for beating me." Blaine watched as Violet placed it in her bag, crossing his arms in thought. "Don't let your fire burn down."
That brought Violet up short. "Sorry?" She asked, not sure what he meant.
"You've come a long way, but you're at the crossroads now." Blaine elaborated, not using a riddle which surprised Violet who was expecting one. "At this point you're as strong as the average trainer in Kanto, but most don't go further due to stagnation. Don't be one of them."
He wants to see how far her flames can burn.
Violet gave a nod of understanding before she turned and left, leaving Blaine to his thoughts.
The man thought that this battle would clear his head, but it only made things worse.
For the first time, he was starting to question the path he took upon joining Team Rocket.
To Be Continued…
Party Data
Starter
Name: Stinger
Species: Beedrill
Type: Poison/Bug
Gender: Male
Nature: Naughty (Up Attack/Down Sp. Defense)
Characteristics: Capable of taking hits. (Up Defense)
Lv. 36
Caught at Lv. 3
Ability: Sniper
Moves: Poison Sting, String Shot, Harden, Fury Attack, Focus Energy, Twineedle, Rage, Rest, Pin Missile and Agility.
Became Violet's Starter in Chapter 01: The Phantom Pokemon.
Evolved into Kakuna and again into Beedrill in Chapter 03: Dangers of the Forest.
2nd Pokemon
Name: Silk
Species: Butterfree
Type: Bug/Flying
Gender: Female
Nature: Bold (Up Defense/Down Attack)
Characteristics: Thoroughly Cunning (Up Sp. Attack)
Lv. 35
Caught at Lv. 5
Ability: Compound Eyes
Moves: Tackle, String Shot, Harden, Confusion, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Supersonic, Whirlwind, Gust and Psybeam.
Joined the team in Chapter 03: Dangers of the Forest.
Evolved into Metapod in Chapter 03: Dangers of the Forest.
Evolved into Butterfree in Chapter 04: Rock Hard Determination.
3rd Pokemon
Name: Parasite
Species: Parasect
Type: Grass/Bug
Gender: Female
Nature: Naive (Up Speed/Down Sp. Defense)
Characteristics: Hates to Lose (Up Sp. Defense)
Lv. 35
Caught at Lv. 7
Ability: Dry Skin
Moves: Scratch, Stun Spore, Bide, Dig, Leech Life, Body Slam and Spore.
Special Move: Quicksand
Was captured in Chapter 06: Trials of Mt. Moon
Evolved in Chapter 12: A Surging Battle
Day Journey Started: April 4th, 20XX
Current Day: May 11th, 20XX
Time Spent as a Trainer: 1 Month
Badges Gained: 4
Not showing Green's Team this time.
Heh, a pretty short chapter but it was enough for the Gym Battle to happen, along with showing Green's plans and then that last part with Blaine beginning to question his own path.
So it had a lot going on.
Hopefully the Gym Battle in itself was good enough because that took a bit to type, what with me trying to decide which fire Pokemon to use and I didn't want to use Magmar again given the last chapter. But while Violet did win, she would've lost if Growlithe was an Arcanine or Blaine had a Charizard instead of a Flareon.
More than that, I need to explain this part, it's about how Violet has been able to gain so much strength despite the short time as a trainer and it's simple really.
The Pokedex.
Sure the love for her Pokemon is one of them, but the Pokedex provides so much that it's almost an unfair advantage. It gives the user the strength of the Pokemon they're fighting, how strong their Pokemon are, their condition, what food to use in their diet to make them stronger.
As opposed to other trainers who made do without as they need to be more careful then Violet, the same for Green who is more at ease with using it then Violet is.
That's how the two of them got so strong so quickly in the span of a month.
And now they're as strong as the average trainer in Kanto because getting to the thirties is the easy part despite it taking a year for the average trainer which is why some of them take a few years before attempting the Gym Challenge, beyond that is what takes a long time, it's why the Elite Four despite having years of experience only have Pokemon in their sixties-at least in this fic, I know it's the fifties, but I digress.
And due to not many trainers being that high, their strength stagnates as well.
Okay hope you enjoyed my explanation, time to answer reviews.
LuxBeacon: If it wasn't for your profile picture I wouldn't have recognized you, the name change caught me off-guard. And I know what you mean, Riddles aren't easy but they're an essential part of Blaines character so I couldn't not have them in. Yeah I figured if any trainer deserves to advance to the next rank it would be Violet and Green, especially after that mess. I actually debated on having Violet lose this match but in the end I went with her winning, after all it is possible due to the moves she does have no matter how limited they may seem to be. Blaine is one of my favorite characters from the Manga because of his character and how far he comes, as for him helping her out, who knows? Say what you want about Surge, he's definitely no coward, he could be bleeding out and about to die and I think he would do it on his feet and spit in his enemies face if he could. Wait really? You would think there would be more Female OC's in Pokemon fics.
RonaldM40196867: They definitely are and yes she will name all of her Pokemon.
Pokemonking0924: Yes she is and her challenging Blaine is the perfect way for her to get stronger because fighting her team's weakness would push them to their limits, sad to say that Pinsir can't learn a rock move in Gen1, I checked. Blaine is awesome in the Manga with how he's written, so I agree full heartedly. Happy New Year to you too.
Guest12: Perhaps, I'm not revealing anything.