Pokѐmon Journey I: Violet's Trial

Chapter 6: The Ticket

Violet's Point of View:

With a full night's rest under my belt (and finally being able to sleep in to at least nine in the morning) I rose from my bed and got ready for the day. When everything was set and where it should be and my pokemon at my side, we walked downstairs and claimed a quick breakfast before we would challenge the gym leader in town, but first I thought it would be fair to update Luke on the situation.

After our quick breakfast, I carried Amber in my arms (since she was still a little tired) and Amethyst walked right at my side, wide awake and ready for the day. She reminded me of my brother a little in that sense; he never was a late sleeper like I was. Unlike Amber who was pretty much just like me, loved to sleep a lot, like nearly ten to twelve hours or so. I remember last night we went to bed fairly early so we got the right amount of sleep of about eleven hours, given or take a little while.

We came up to the video chat phone and quickly called Luke's number. It took a little longer then normal but he soon picked up, looking quite tired. "Viridian market store… oh forget it, Violet is this you?"

"Yeah, is everything alright Luke?" I questioned him worriedly. I might not have known him for very long, but this was very unlike him.

"Yeah, sorry about that Violet, but is there anyway you could call me later on? I'm way too tired from a nearly all nighter shift since my co-worker couldn't come in and I was left to handle the store myself."

"Sure Luke," I said quickly and try to help him get back to bed soon. "Go back to bed, I'll call back later tonight or tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, night…" I don't even think he hung up the phone before he fell asleep again. I ended the call with a small smile on my face and I turned to my two pokemon.

"Let's go you two; we have a gym battle to win."

HalloweenWitchHalloweenWitch

After asking around a little bit and learning all around town, I found myself before the second gym leader's door. From the information I gathered around town, Misty Brooke is a water type gym leader whose battle strategy is an all out offence with her water types.

When I looked back at both of my pokemon, I realized that there was only one smart choice, Amber. With her being an electric type of pokemon, she was better suited to face off against water types then Amethyst was due to the fact that the water could even kill her should the flame on her tail go out. My only option was Amber, and I had to pray that she could handle the gym leader on her own so that Amethyst wouldn't have to be dragged out.

I sighed once more and looked down at my pokemon. "Its show time you guys." The both nodded and we slowly pushed the door open. I could hear the water flowing from inside the building and saw before me that a majority of the area was filled with water.

Suddenly the doors closed behind me and the lights switched on, I shielded them from view until I could open them a short while later and looked before me. The area was a large pool like area before us with stone pads in the pool for land walking pokemon. I was already standing in the challenger's box and on the other side was a young woman not much older then myself. Her light orange hair was slightly spiky and pulled back in a single side pony tail and she wore a pale blue top that like a wide sports bra and shorts. She gazed at me with excitement in her eyes and pointed directly at me.

"So you must be my next challenger eh?" she questioned. "I hope you show me a great battle. As I'm sure you can tell by now, my pokemon are all water types."

"That's what I heard from around town Misty," I called back.

She suddenly gazed at my two pokemon at my side. "Are those the only pokemon you have?"

"Yes, why? Is there a problem?"

"On no, not at all. Just planning on how to take you down since the major challenge will just be your pikachu."

"Amber isn't so easily beaten." I looked over at my pikachu. "Let's go girl!" My pikachu cried out and jumped from my shoulder onto the stone platform in the middle of the pool. She waited on Misty next to send out her own pokemon.

"Well don't let me hold you back! Staru lets go!" From the pokeball that Misty threw out came a light brown five pointed star with a gold plate in the center of its body and a pinkish red gem that sat in the middle of that plate. It flew around in the air by rotating its body before it landed on the other stone platform before Misty on her side.

I almost thought that Misty would've had her pokemon go right into the water, but I see now why she didn't. I see that she normally would have and used the water to her advantage to sneak around me beneath our feet. But with Amber on the field, that's not possible unless she wants to be knocked right out. Amber could electrocute the water since water conducts electricity and it would latterly multiply her attack by nearly ten times more for the enemy pokemon being water and from being inside the water. Her best option was to stay out of the water, and I bet that didn't happen too often, hence the style of her gym.

"First move to the challenger." Misty gestured to us and I nodded.

"Amber, lets start out with thundershock!" My pokemon lowered itself to the ground in a crouch and its electric sacs on its checks suddenly sparked and its body became covered in electricity as it fired its attack at the staru sitting there.

"Dodge Staru and use tackle!" Misty shouted quickly. Her pokemon jumped to the side with a record speed and leapt toward the platform that my pikachu was on. With it now it close range, it might make it easier to hit.

"Quick attack!" Amber suddenly shot her body at the staru and they both landed directly into the water. I saw Misty's face become mortified and she searched for her pokemon.

Amber came right up and swung her head from side to side to be ride of the water in her ears and eyes before she looked to me for orders. "Thundershock." I told her simply. She nodded and suddenly it was like watching fireworks in the water. The entire pool was lit up with electricity and it surprises me that it didn't fry Misty and myself as well.

Suddenly we saw bubbles over to the left of my side. I watched as they came to the surface and suddenly, in the middle of them, was Misty's staru. It was still, it was done, that battle was over with. Amber swam over to it and helped it over to my side and I pulled it out.

"Your staru's alright! It's just knocked out!" I called over to her. She nodded, breathing a sigh of relief and returned her pokemon to its pokeball before anything else happened to it and she pulled out another pokeball.

"Let's go Starmie! We can't let her win!" Misty called out and from the pokeball she threw came a violet colored pokemon that was star in shape like the staru had been, but this one had ten points on it and like its previous evolved form it had a gold plate at its center with a larger gem over that.

"Rapid spin!" Misty suddenly called out and the starmie suddenly threw itself into the action, flying in the air, using its rotating star edges so that it flew through the air around us.

"Amber! Use quick attack to avoid it!" My pokemon did just that as the starmie came racing in and nearly crashed on the stone platform and suddenly landed in the water. My pokemon landed on the platform next to and grinned at the pokemon below the water.

I grinned as well. "Thundershock!" My pokemon let loose with a lot more power and the water lit up like New Years Day. I watched her starmie get fried below the water and it stilled before I saw it twitching from the paralyze Amber had given it.

I looked over to Misty, smirking as I waited for her to claim defeat, but to my surprise, I saw her smirk right back at me. "Recover." Suddenly below the water I saw a rainbow of colors before I saw her starmie fly out of the water and it was flying in the air once more. Its wounds were seemingly gone, but I could still see that some of the electrical shock that caused it to become paralyzed still bounced across its skin. Recover huh? I'll have to remember that in the future.

"We're not out of this just yet!" Misty called out. "Starmie use water pulse!" The ten pointed star in the sky suddenly stopped spinning and blasted a mixture of water and bubbles at my pokemon. Amber took the full blown hit and was thrown back into the water. She broke the surface and hurried over to the nearest plat form, but the starmie was faster. Misty had ordered it to use rapid spin on Amber over and over again, and if Amber managed to miss the attack, the starmie would hit the water and send large waves in every direction, either pushing Amber under the waves or pushing her away from the platform.

Amber was losing her energy fast and I had to think of what I could do to help her, but what was there to do? I knew Misty purposely was keeping my pokemon from reaching any land to get a grip on the situation. My only option would be to electrocute the water, but the starmie knew recover, and it was fast on its feet (so to speak). I'd need to weaken it and then work from there and to do that, I'd have to do the only thing I could do, electrocute the water.

"Amber! Thundershock where you are!" My pikachu nodded and the water lit up once more just as the starmie entered the water. The starmie shrieked in the water and stilled once more. I saw it twitch below the surface of the water and I knew we had to move fast. "Amber! Get to the platform!" My pokemon quickly swam while the waters were for the most part calm.

"Recover Starmie!" Misty cried out and the water pokemon once again glowed, taking in energy and light. It soon was recovered again and had its energy back, but the paralyze on the starmie looked like it was stronger this time; the starmie wasn't as fast as it has been.

"Hurry Amber! Quick attack!" My pokemon raced toward the spot where the starmie came out of the water and hit it head on before she landed on the platform. "Again!"

Amber kept up the attack after that. Starmie tried to recover while Amber kept pounding her relentlessly with quick attacks, but soon enough; the pokemon was frozen in place and beaten down from the electrical and normal moves against it. With one final hit, Amber hit it head on where its crystal was at the center of its body. I watched it crack and break before the starmie flew backward to where the platform before Misty was.

"Starmie!" A weak cry came from her pokemon as it tried to stand back up. It was able to get to its feet, but I knew that it was over.

"Its over starmie, I don't want to hurt you anymore then we already have." The pokemon shook its head and tried to fire a beam of water at Amber, but it was incredibly weak in power and ended up no where near her.

I shook my head. I needed to end this before it ends up hurting itself. "Amber, give it a final thundershock, just enough to knock it over." My pokemon nodded and her cheeks sparked but she suddenly stopped and I looked over to the water pokemon across the gym from her. The starmie suddenly was still as it stood and then fell over from all the damage it took.

"Starmie!" Misty called out to it. It didn't move from its spot, it was down for the count. I called Amber back and Misty jumped into the water to hurry over to her pokemon. I watched with Amethyst and Amber on the other side until my fire type pokemon tugged on my sleeve and pointed over to them.

"Let's go see if they need any help." My pokemon and I took off toward the other side of the gym where Misty was over her starmie checking it over. I cupped my hands over my mouth to echo my voice. "Is your starmie alright?"

"She's alright; she's just really worn down. You really gave her a good battle." Misty stood up and returned her starmie to its pokeball before she jumped back over into the water and resurfaced at my feet. She pulled herself out of the water and looked down at me with a grin. "You really showed some good moves with your pokemon, you really know you stuff and how to work with your pokemon, you most definitely deserve this badge." She handed me over a small blue badge that looked like a rain drop and I happily took it into my hands.

"The cascade badge right?" I questioned. She nodded. I smiled and looked down at our badge and showed it to the girls. "Our second badge you guys, six more to go." My two pokemon cheered and Amethyst started throwing Amber up in the air for laughs.

"Well, I'd best be getting some lunch for the three of us, so I'm gonna get going now. Thanks for the battle and the badge Misty." I held out my hand to shake with her's and she gripped it tightly.

"It was a good one; I shouldn't have been so careless when I battled your pikachu. By the way, what's your name?" The sudden question caught me off guard but I answered it quickly.

"Violet Vilmos," I told her.

"It is you!" She clapped her hands together and her eyes sparkled at me. "Brock sent me word that I'd probably be seeing you come this way. I saw your battle against him on video." She winked at me. "Incredible! And you only had pokemon that were weak against his. It was luck and skill that got you through that battle, don't you dare let that die." I snorted lightly at her words.

"I don't plan on letting it die Misty. Besides, I doubt Amethyst and Amber would let me." Both my pokemon firmly agreed with me and we both laughed. "Well, I'd better get going. I still want to check out the routes north of town before I head to the next city."

"Have fun with that then Violet, I'll be letting Surge know your coming to his gym next." Misty said. "He lives in Vermilion City, south of Saffron City, but the roads that all lead to Saffron, for some strange reason, have been closed down; you'll have to take the underground passage to get to Vermilion City."

"Thanks for the info Misty, bye!" Before we ended up talking some more (because I knew that was exactly what I'd do if I had the chance) I hurried out of her gym with my pokemon right on my heels. I planned to get a quick meal and heal Amber up before we head north to check out some stuff.

HalloweenWitchHalloweenWitch

After our lunch (which was a really good meal since I treated the girls for their (I should say Amber's) good job at the gym) we headed north to where apparently route twenty-four and twenty five were. There was a large body of water to the north and a bridge that crossed it. I saw five trainers on the bridge, trainers that I saw were watching me as I approached.

The first one I recognized as a bug catcher from the get up and the net. He grinned back at me and stood before me once I got to where he was. "This is the nugget bridge!" he claimed. "If you beat all five of us here on the bridge you get a great prize!"

"And I get to go to the other side?" I questioned lightly.

"Uh… yeah, you get to go to the other side." He seemed a bit startled by the question but quickly got back into his stance. "Now lets battle!"

"Okay, okay, chill kid." It was like he wasn't even listening to me and he threw out his first bug pokemon, a caterpie. I sighed and let Amethyst have at his pokemon, each one of them fell in one hit due to his carelessness.

Once his last pokemon, a kakuna, was down for the counter, he whined about his lose but let me by for the next trainer. She looked like one of those lass girls dressed in a white button up shit and a blue skirt. Her brown hair as pulled back she held out her pokeball.

"I'm number two!" she explained. "Now its time to get serious."

I shook my head as Amethyst volunteered to go out and battle again. This was going to be a long afternoon…

HalloweenWitchHalloweenWitch

"Congratulations! You've beaten all five trainers!" a sixth guy at the end of the bridge told me once I'd landed on the other side. Amethyst had hardly used any of her abilities while Amber had gotten to take a nice long break (or a nap) in my arms while we did so. She was still sleeping when we reached the other side, but I didn't have the heart to wake her.

The guy before us handed over a small round piece of gold, another nugget. I've heard these things sell well in price, but I get enough money from beating other trainers that I don't need to right now. So I pocketed the small piece of gold and looked back at the man before me.

"By the way, would you like to join Team Rocket?" he asked. I raised my eye brow and Amber even woke up at the mention of those horrible people. "We're an organization who uses pokemon to make other lives miserable."

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered.

"Not at all, so will you join?"

"Go to hell." I spat at him.

"Don't be so snippy, are you sure you won't join?"

"What part of 'go to hell' don't you understand? Hell no! I'm not joining. Now move out of my way." I pushed past only to feel his slimy fingers wrap around my arm. Amber was instantly over my shoulder, ready to electrocute or bite him. Amethyst growled and raised her claws right next to his arm, showing him that if he didn't let go, she'd cut off his arm, I wouldn't mind too badly, just so long as his grimy fingers were off me.

"I think you need to be taught a lesson." He hissed before he released me roughly and Amethyst held me up from the push of his hands. He jumped backward and pulled out his own pokeballs. One he threw at us, "go Ekans!" A more commonly used pokemon by Team Rocket, the poison snake that was colored light lavender. It hissed at us and Amethyst jumped forward to battle it right away.

"Let's take it out quickly Amethyst; this guy isn't worth much of our time," I told her. She grinned at her opponent and nodded to me before extending claws. "Metal claw!" Her hands turned metallic and she rushed at the ekans. Before it was even given an order to attack or dodge, the ekans was hit head on with a critical hit to its jaw and was down for the count. The Team Rocket grunt was speechless as he stared at the still ekans before him with two large 'x's over its eyes.

"If you're gonna stand there all day and look at your pokemon, fine, but I'd like to get going!" I snapped at the man. He finally snapped out of whatever daze he was in and returned the ekans to its pokeball and then threw out a zubat. Amethyst wasn't really impressed with the smaller opponent and flexed its claws against to attack. "Use metal claw again Amethyst!" She jumped forward and nearly flew into the air as she chucked her metallic arm down toward the zubat and I heard a large crack in its wings as it was thrown to the ground. I heard a horrible cracking sound that was so much worse. The grunt from there just released it from its pokeball and backed away from me.

"Hell… you should have taken up my offer, with your power; you could have been at the top of Team Rocket!" He then bolted from the scene with his only pokemon still in his pocket. While he did that, I hurried over to the zubat that Amethyst had nearly crushed. I saw its wings were both broken, it wouldn't be able to fly for a while, and its body was very bruised, but I don't think that was from my battle with it, and it was so fragile due to the way it's been treated by Team Rocket.

I looked around the area, the trainers behind me were quiet as they had watched the scene of their so called 'friend' was actually a Team Rocket member trying to recruit new members by they're fun pass time of battling trainers on their way up the route. I thought of the closest place where I could get help, the pokemon center was all the way back in the city, that was pretty far, and when I looked down the route, I saw a single house.

Without thinking much, I carefully picked up the zubat and carried it to the house just down the way, my pokemon following right behind me in worry. Amber had even taken her weight off my shoulder to make sure I wouldn't hurt the zubat.

I arrived at the house quickly and knocked on the door in a rush. "Come in!" called a voice from inside. I hurried into the house and suddenly stopped in my path, before me stood a clafariy, a pokemon I'd seen often in Mt. Moon while I traveled through there. But where was the voice I heard?

"Um, down here girl." I looked down at the clafariy and watched that its lips moved like that of a human and I stood there dumb founded.

"A… clafariy… is talking." I quickly turned to my pokemon. "Amber, Amethyst, am I going mad?"

"Pika."

"Char." The two of them shook their heads and said they heard it too.

"You're not going mad!" the clafariy said. "I'm sorry that you had to see me this why, but an experiment of mine went wrong and I ended up turned into a pokemon."

"O-kay," I muttered. "So, is there a way we can help you? We're in a pretty bad pick of trouble ourselves." I showed him the zubat in my arms. I saw worry appeared in his eyes and he directed me over to the computer.

"Just activate the program once I'm inside the large machine in the back of this room. It should turn me back to normal and I'll help you in any way I can." I nodded and rushed over to the computer that he had over to the corner of the room that was linked up by many cables to the large machine in the back of his house. He hurried inside the machine to the right of us and closed the door behind him. Amethyst made sure it was closed tightly before she and Amber came over to my side.

With the injured zubat still in my arms, I pressed the button on his computer that activated his machine. It suddenly came to life with lights and sounds and I had to cover the zubat's ultra sonic ear sockets to keep them from getting damaged as well. Suddenly a light flashed from between the two machines in the large metal rode that joined them and it came to the left machine before us before the lights and the sounds all shut off at once. I was worried that maybe we had lost power, but then the guy that was turned into a clafariy walked out.

He was a young man, probably around his early to mid twenties with layered brown hair and gentle brown eyes. He wore a button up dark blue shirt and brown jeans, his sleeves on his shirt were rolled up to his lower mid arm and black shoes finished the ensemble.

He sighed and hurried over to me. "Thank you so much! Now let's take a look at this zubat." The poor thing wiggled in my arms as I set it down on the table.

"Its gonna be alright lovey, just hold still," I told the zubat. It suddenly went still and the guy next to me started in with working on its wounds.

HalloweenWitchHalloweenWitch

"I see, so this pokemon was a victim of Team Rocket's," the young man, who I soon found out to be a guy named Bill Hugh who created the means of communication and teleportation of items and pokemon in their pokeballs through a video phone system, said to my explanation as to what had happened today. It took us a good half hour to cover the story and get all the details, but soon, Bill was up to speed with what happened and who I was.

The zubat was now bandaged up and currently eating to her heart's content my lap with Amber and Amethyst hanging over to keep an eye on her incase she suddenly choked or something, but she was happily munching right away at the food Bill had given her, happy for any at all really.

"I couldn't leave the poor thing on the ground there, and I started to look around for the closest place so I could get help for her. The pokemon center was all the way back to town, and I didn't think she'd last that long of a run and I could've hurt her. So I saw your house and I think you know the rest from there," I finished up.

"Yes, and I'm glad you did or I would have been suck as a clafariy and that zubat would have been left for dead," Bill agreed. "But what do you plan to do now with the zubat? Surely you don't plan on taking her on your journey."

"Of course not, especially not right now with her injured as she is. I wouldn't dare." I patted the little zubat's head. "But I don't dare send her home either. I'm in a bit of a battle with my family right now that don't want me out of the road alone with Team Rocket around since they attacked me once already, and they don't know about the other two times I became involved. I'm on the run right now from my brother and my best friend who are apparently supposed to be my body guards. I can't put that kind of stress on her right now with what she needs to work with to heal. I don't know where I can place her…" Amethyst and Amber sighed at my sides.

"I wouldn't mind keep an eye on her," Bill said. "Its one of the least things that I can do for you after you helped me back to normal. It'll take about six months for those wings to fully heal, and I'm home most all the time so I can look after her."

"Would you Bill?" I asked hopefully. "I'd be so in your dept."

"Its not a problem, but here, take this as well if you don't mind." He got up from his seat and looked through the draws of his desk before he pulled out some sort of ticket. He handed it over to me and it said it was for the S.S. Anne world trip that was to last all year.

"I can't take this," I told him.

"I'd like it if you did," Bill replied. "You see, I don't really care for parties, and this boat has trainers from all over that could help you with your training. Also, you don't have to stay on the ship, you can just show up with the ticket and stay until departure time and leave, you can have your ticket officially changed when you show up, just tell them I gave you my ticket and they'll get you set up with a departure party ticket, so you'll just be there for the day and night before they leave. But they do want you to dress up."

"Oh, okay in that sense then. I don't mind taking it if you're sure."

"I'm positive, large crowds aren't my cup of tea so to speak," he muttered.

"I guess we get to go on our first boat, excited girls?" I said to Amethyst and Amber. They both cheered and nodded their heads. The zubat looked up from where she was eating and looked up at me. I rubbed the top of her head and handed her over to Bill. "Well, we gotta get going. Thanks for everything Bill; you take care of our zubat."

"I promise I will," he smiled. "You go and enjoy that horrid cruise."

"Don't worry I will." I then kissed the top of my zubat's head. "You be good for Bill lovey, I'll see you later on. Promise me you'll get better okay?" She nodded and I looked back up at Bill. "Is there any way I can get your number to check in with you guys from time to time?" He nodded and used his free hand to write down his number on the paper and handed it to me, I pocketed it and I waved good-bye to them.

"Pika!" Amber shouted back from on my shoulder.

"Char!" Amethyst called from my side.

"Bye!" I called and the three of us took off down the route.

We headed back the way we came since there was not other way to go back to Cerulean City. The path was short once more as we reached the nugget bridge and started to cross our way back to the other side. It was almost completely dark now and lights lit up the bridge (along with Amethyst's tail fire).

We had almost made it back into the city when I heard two voices arguing as they headed my way. Amber quickly stepped up and sparked her cheeks and Amethyst got defensively in front of me.

"What's wrong girls?" I questioned them. They continued to look ahead and suddenly I saw two bodies come out of the distance, both of them extremely familiar to me. My eyes widened and I watched as they froze two. Suddenly their pokemon were out before them and they were ready to attack.

"Shit," I muttered. Alex and Vince stood right before me, blocking my path back to the city.

Witch's Note:

I think here's a great place to leave off, don't you? Naw, probably not for you guys, but I like leaving you off at such a point! Okay! So who do you think will win? The mighty Violet or Alex and Vince who've been trailing behind her? I bet you'll never guess!

See you guys soon! Don't forget to Review and send in Questions for me! See you next week!

Halloween Witch