Valkyrie Potter: Pokemon Journey Chapter 3, a Pokémon + Harry Potter Crossover fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon and Harry Potter

BloodyKitsune1997: Okay before anyone complains about the attacks and stuff, I wanted to lay this out. It doesn't make sense that attacks that could be learned in earlier generations can't be learned now. I'm going to ignore that fact. I will also be putting up a list of Vali's pokemon and their pokedex entry including their attacks on my profile at some point soon.

Word count around 15,600 which is way more than my usual. But I did have to do some world building. What's a good pokemon fic without world building? Anyway, here's the next chapter. Tell me what you think or if you have an idea for an extended pokedex entry. Also who should I use as the Cerulean Gym Leaders? It can't be Misty or her sisters. Misty is Ash's age and her sisters are Vali's age.

Reviews:

Twister60: I'm really glad.

Jostanos: You'd make a good outro guy.

917brat: Thanks a lot for the wonderful review. I'm glad you like it and don't worry, I'll be keeping this up.

DraaIzilUss: Thanks. To tell you the truth, I don't really know yet. I'm heavily debating it though I suppose it could be worked into my plans. I would need a really good reason for her to keep it though.

ThunderClaw03: That she does, but she will heal.

frankieu: Thanks! I was debating having Lance or one of the others be her traveling partner, but decided to pick Steven. He isn't used very often, ya know? I wanted her to have a goal. What can we say, Ash's a kid. He'll still be attempting to become a Pokemon Master, but he wouldn't be Ash if he didn't.

xirons: You mean story, right? But thank you.

greenespeon1995: Thank you!

Edit: Just some spelling errors...I should probably get a beta or something.

Chapter three

On the day Eevee finally woke up, Vali had been visiting for most of the morning though she would have to leave soon for lunch and training with Steven. Vali didn't notice Eevee was awake at first due to Pikachu getting into a fight with Smaug that was quickly getting out of control. She grabbed Smaug as Balto pounced on Pikachu, "Both of you, you're going to wake up Eevee with your noise. You heard Nurse Joy, he needs to rest," Both looked a bit sheepish though Smaug was looking away from her, "I know both of you are going a bit stir crazy, but have some patience please."

Pidgey let out a trill prompting Vali to look at her. Pidgey pointed her wing at the bed and Vali looked down to see Eevee's eyes open. She smiled warmly at the Eevee though she didn't get close to him, "Hello, Eevee. I'm happy to see that you've woken up. You gave my partners and I quite the scare," Eevee glared at her and hissed, "I know you probably don't want to see another human after what happened, but I kept my promise to you. You're in a pokemon center and your former scumbag of a trainer and his cronies is being put behind bars. I..." Vali took a deep breath, "I got you to Nurse Joy and you're going to make it. I don't know what to say to you other than the fact I'm so happy that I managed to get you here in time," Balto nuzzled her lightly as he got off of Pikachu, "You're going to be taken to Professor Oak's in a day or two now that you've woken up."

The door opened and Nurse Joy entered, "Vali, you're time is up."

"Eevee woke up," Vali told the nurse gaining a relieved smile.

"Say your goodbyes for today," Nurse Joy told her before leaving the room.

More than likely, she would be gathering some equipment to do a deeper check on Eevee now that he was awake. Vali turned to Eevee as she slowly stood up, "You heard Nurse Joy, it looks like my partners and I have to leave. I'll be back tomorrow to see how you're doing and tell you about Professor Oak. You'll probably enjoy the corral a lot once you're healed up," Vali reached out only to pause when Eevee growled and dropped her hand making the growling stop, "I won't push you Eevee. I just want you to know that I hope you'll get better. I'm not allowed to release you right now otherwise I would because that's clearly what you want. I hope that you eventually see that not all humans are bad, but that's going to take a lot of time. Trust me, I know the feeling," Vali put down Smaug and headed for the door, "See you tomorrow, Eevee."

Vali held the door open for her pokemon and walked out behind them before closing it. She paused and stared through the glass observation window at Eevee. He glared at her through the glass. She smiled at him and waved before heading down the corridor towards the lobby.

Vali walked into the room and found Eevee staring out of the window. With twitching ears, he turned and immediately began growling at her. Instead of coming in close like before, Vali took a seat in the far visitors chair by the door. She spoke as Eevee glared at her, "Hello, Eevee. I hope you're doing better today. I heard from Nurse Joy that a lot of your minor injuries are healing quickly which is really good since it means you'll probably be healed sooner rather than later. At least, physically speaking you're healing."

Vali continued talking along that vein for awhile before she began speaking of Professor Oak and his corral. She tried to paint the most vivid picture of it possible with Balto adding in his own thoughts and feelings about the place he'd grown up in. Eevee stopped growling after awhile and turned away from them though his twitching ears told her that he was listening. Eventually, Nurse Joy came in and told her it was time to leave. Reaching into her bag, she took out the Flareon plushy that Delia had gifted her back during those first few weeks in this world and placed it on the edge of the bed. She spoke as Eevee continued to ignore her, "I know you'll probably destroy this since it came from a human, but I'm still giving it to you. Delia, someone that's like a mother to me, gave it to me no long after I arrived in this world. It's comforted me when I was being over whelmed by how many adults were coming around me. I was like you, but it's only since I came to this world that I'm healing. I'm not going to ask that you don't destroy it since that's asking too much of you. I only hope that if you don't it will bring you comfort when you need it," Vali turned and began leaving the room only to pause when she heard the thump of something soft hitting the ground, "I'll see you tomorrow, Eevee."

She opened the door for her pokemon and walked out once they'd left. She paused at the glass observation window and saw Eevee looking out of the window. The Flareon plush was on the floor. Instead of getting mad, she shook her head and headed towards the lobby.

Vali saw the Flareon plush on the ground as she walked in. The scene from the day before occurred again with Eevee glaring and growling at her while she sat down in the far visitors chair. She resumed talking about the same things as yesterday while mentioning that tomorrow would be the day he'd be taken to Professor Oak. She did pick of the Flareon plush and brushed off the dirt while feeling glad that it had been made to withstand the damage of relatively weak attacks. She could feel teeth imprints as she worked to get rid of the dirty. She didn't get mad at Eevee like he probably expected her to. She didn't even bother mentioning the plush even when she set it on the bed and left him for the day, "I'll see you tomorrow, Eevee. I'll miss you while you're with Professor Oak."

It was sunny the day when she had to say goodbye to Eevee. A part of her resented the fact that he would be taken to Professor Oak, but she pushed those feelings away. The same event that had occurred the last few days since he woke up happened. Vali spoke to Eevee as she cleaned off the Flareon plush. It was only when Nurse Joy appeared and told her it was time did she deviate. She put down the Flareon plush on the bed and touched Eevee for the first time making him stiffen with a growl. She gently scratched behind his ears while making sure her fingers didn't stray to injured section, "This is goodbye for now, Eevee. I'll miss you. I hope that we'll see one another soon," Eevee slowly began to relax, "I...I really don't know what to say other than I hope you heal quickly. With any luck, we'll be able to see one another again. I know you don't trust humans, but I hope you'll give me the benefit of the doubt. Be safe, Eevee."

With her goodbyes given, Vali left with her pokemon after they'd said their own piece. Vali let her back rest against the door as tears began to form. She didn't know why the thought of not seeing Eevee again for a while made her cry. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths when she heard footsteps. She looked up and found Steven standing there. He smiled sadly at her, "Everything will be alright Vali."

"I know which makes the fact I'm crying even more confusing," Vali pushed off the door and walked over to Steven as she wiped away the tears, "I...Is it odd that I'm sad that I'm not going to see Eevee for awhile?"

"No," Steven shook his head lightly and they started walking towards the lobby, "Sometimes all it takes is a serious moment and spending just a little bit of time with a pokemon to get attached. All you can do is move forward,"

A few hours later Vali watched Officer Jenny leave with Eevee's pokeball in hand and felt her heart drop a little. She resisted the urge to run after Officer Jenny along with the urge to return to Pallet town. Steven placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked at him, "Steven?"

"Let's go train," Steven advised earning a bark of agreement from Balto.

Vali nodded knowing that it would help keep her mind off of Eevee not to mention her pokemon could use it.

Vali checked her bag one more time and made sure she had all of her stuff before zipping it up. She pulled it onto her bag and grabbed her room key before heading out. She met Steven downstairs, "All set?"

"I only need to get my pokemon back from Nurse Joy," Steven answered as they headed towards the front desk.

They had both decided to get their pokemon one last check up before leaving Viridian. Vali had also got an extra poison resistance shot since they were heading through Viridian Forest. While it probably wouldn't be needed, it was best to play it safe especially since she hadn't been training for more than a week. Nurse Joy greeted them with a smile as they handed in their room keys, "Leaving today?"

"Yes we are," Steven answered as Nurse Joy took out two trays and set them onto the counter.

Vali took her four pokeballs, "Did anything come up during their check up?"

"No, they're all good to travel," Nurse Joy told her earning a relieved sigh, "Though I will mention that you might want to keep an eye on Pidgey while you travel through Viridian Forest. It's a hunting ground of both the Pidgey line and the Spearow line. The local Beedrill do not like them and will likely go in for the kill if they catch sight of her,"

Vali nodded taking the warning as seriously as possible as she took out her pokedex and Steven took out some device she hadn't seen before. She opened onto the map-function, "Nurse Joy could you please point out the parts of Viridian Forest that are used as Beedrill nests?"

Nurse Joy granted the request and did so for both of them. They left soon after that and Vali asked, "What is that?"

"It's prototype of the newest Pokenav," Steven answered holding it out to her as they walked and she took it from him curiously, "My father wanted me to be one of the field testers. Unfortunately, it's still a big buggy and can't call outside of the current region. By this time next year, my father hopes to have all the bugs figured out,"

"It seems interesting. I might have to get one at some point," She handed the device back to him.

Steven smiled and put it away, "The pokenav is really useful. My old one allowed me to take calls anywhere, it had a map that updated via satellite, allowed me to keep track of my badge count, take videos of my battles, and things like that. The feature I liked most was it's ability to connect with my current teams pokeballs and tell me a bit about them. Mostly it was their current physical state and how they were feeling."

Viridian Forest was like a maze of trails both marked and unmarked. Not even a five minute walk inside and the trees were already making it dark, Vali breathed in the musky scent of the forest and watched as various small pokemon run around. Mostly it was a Caterpie or a Weedle, she did see a few Rattata running around though each of them took off the moment they became aware of the humans walking on the path. Vali spoke as they passed by a small pond, "I've never seen so many bug types before."

"Oh?" Steven glanced at her.

Vali shook her head as Balto and Pikachu looked around curiously. Pidgey was eyeing the bug types while Smaug looked around warily, "No. Professor Oak doesn't have many at the lab most of the time. I mean there was that time when a fire happened in here, but I wasn't allowed at the lab since it was fairly dangerous what with the influx of wild pokemon."

"That's understandable though," Steven looked around as Squirtle trotted after him, "What started the fire?"

"According to Sirius and the other Rangers that had gone to help the pokemon living here, the fire was started by an absent minded newbie and his Charmander," Vali's mind went back to that day, "The kid was apparently trying to catch a Rapidash during the migration that was happening at the time. The kid ended up losing his license for two years. From what I remember, the kid's under strict watch by the League and isn't allowed a fire type for another year,"

"What happened to the Charmander?" Steven asked curiously.

"I'm not sure though either Blaine took it in or it was sent to the reserve that's somewhere in Johto," Vali wasn't too sure, "I think it would've gone to Blaine though since it wasn't born in the wild and the reserve apparently only has wild ones," Vali bent down to rub Smaug's head as she said, "I'm going to be keeping an eye on both Smaug and Balto. Despite how lush and wet this place is, it is summer and there's no telling how dry it will get," She looked at Steven, "Sirius would murder me alongside Professor Oak if I started the next Viridian Forest forest fire,"

He chuckled softly, "Well, I'll have to have Squirtle keep an eye out for fires then."

By the end of their first day in the forest, Vali and her pokemon were tired of bug catchers. Most didn't have more than a barely trained Weedle or Caterpie, it was far too easy to defeat them even with Pidgey and Pikachu doing most of the fighting. By the end, Vali just had Smaug and Balto burn their opponents into unconsciousness. Steven battled as well with both Lileep and Squirtle which made the bug catchers seem a bit more difficult than she was probably letting on. They were still fairly weak and came in droves. Vali managed to get quite a few poke-dollars to add to her trainer account when they got to Pewter. They found a decent sized clearing that actually had the stars shining down on them just before sunset, so they set up camp.

Steven helpfully had Claydoll pull up a few boulders for them to use as target practice. Vali had Smaug working to learn Metal Claw as Balto worked on Iron Tail alongside Pikachu. Pidgey was working on learning Steel Wing from Skarmory alongside Gust. After stretching, Vali and Steven began running sprints before doing push ups. By the time they finished training for the night, Smaug's claws looked both sharper and shinier while Balto and Pikachu's tails showed no sign of change. Vali sat down after getting her pokemon their food and commented, "It looks like Smaug might learn Metal Claw faster than Balto and Pikachu learn Iron Tail."

"It could go either way as Balto and Pikachu need to build up strength in their tails before they'll be able to even think about channeling steel type energy into their tails," Steven replied as they started eating their own meals, "Neither of them use their tails for much while Smaug uses his claws daily,"

Vali nodded as she took out her pokedex to scan through all three of their pokedex entries before opening up to the time it generally takes for them to learn the moves she was teaching them, "True enough. According their pokedex entries, it shouldn't take more than three weeks for them to learn it though that's just the general amount. I think they could probably learn it within a week and half to two weeks," She looked at her pokemon, "What do you think? That should be enough time for you to get those moves down, right?"

Balto barked and wagged his tail as Pikachu sparked up while pumping his fist. Smaug spat out a small burst of embers that were quickly doused by Squirtle. Smaug glared at the turtle, but didn't retaliate. Steven shook his head with a soft laugh, "According to the map, we're at least five days from Pewter, but given how easy it is to get lost not to mention the fact we'll be taking it slow tomorrow, we should get there in at least a week if not a few days after."

Vali nodded while changing to the map of Viridian Forest, "If we stay on this path, we'll pass by at least one Beedrill nest during the time. There's one about eight miles north and two miles east of here."

"You'll have to keep Pidgey in her ball once there is an increase in Weedle and Kakuna," Steven noted as Vali put her pokedex away.

"I know," Pidgey hopped onto her knee after finishing off her bowl of food, "You heard him, Girl. You're going to have to stay in your ball for a little while either tomorrow or the day after,"

Pidgey trilled as she nodded her head in understanding. Vali scratched the Pidgey's breast feathers earning a coo from the bird. Balto, Pikachu, and Smaug finished their food before coming to curl up around her. Vali finished off her sandwich and yawned softly, "I think I'm going to turn in for the night."

"That isn't a bad idea," It was only around nine but today had been fairly rough on her pokemon who weren't used to battling so much despite their rather easy time beating the bug catchers, "I'll have Aggron and Claydol watch us tonight,"

Vali nodded as no one wanted to wake up to whatever bug types decided to attack during the middle of the night. Sleep took a little while as she listened to the nocturnal pokemon going about their lives, but eventually she did.

The next two days were fairly relaxed, but the days after that were not. The first Beedrill nest was passed by quickly and quietly with the rather violent bug types merely watching them pass by. The second one, about three miles from the first, was harder to get through as the Beedrill were agitated due to the presence of a flock of Spearow. They managed though and didn't start having truly bad luck until the fourth day inside the forest. They were chased off the path by not only a large swarm of Beedrill feuding with a second flock of Spear led by a mated pair of Fearow which meant dodging not only the pissed off bees, but also a bunch of pissed off birds as well. They also had to run into two dens filled with aggressive Raticate and their Rattata babies. When it started to look up on the sixth day, they found themselves in a rather harsh thunderstorm with abnormally cold rain.

Steven quickly had Claydol create a shelter for them once they managed to find a relatively high hill. Steven pulled out a steel grey cube-like device that she recognized from one of the catalogs she'd gone through since she'd decided to become a trainer. It was about the size of his palm and expensive as hell. He tapped a button in the center causing it to glow red like a pokeball and pointed it towards the ground. A large pile of dry wood appeared and Steven had Claydol construct a fire pit before he began placing some of the wood down before asking Vali, "Can Balto or Smaug light this on fire?"

Vali released Smaug and gestured to the fire pit, "Mind lighting the wood in there?"

Smaug nodded and spat out an ember at the wood immediately causing it to catch on fire. Vali thanked him as she released her other pokemon. Steven smiled lightly, "Good. We should probably change into some dry clothes."

Vali nodded in agreement and turned away from Steven to get out some dry clothes. Even with changing into some dry ones, Vali was still cold and cuddled Balto to her chest. Her other pokemon curled up around her though Smaug laid his laid on the ground to prevent it from burning her, she spoke as they got settled down, "How long do you think the rain will last?"

"I'm not too sure though it shouldn't last more than a day as it isn't storm season," Steven looked at her in concern, "Are you alright?"

"Just cold," Vali was grateful for her pokemon, "I'll be fine as soon as I warm up," She looked at him, "How come you aren't shivering?"

"I've been colder," Steven told her as he leaned back against Aggron, "Though I will admit that it's a bit surprising that it's so cold right now. I didn't think Kanto got any out of season weather,"

"Strange things do happen," Vali leaned back against her book bag and looked at her drying clothes which sat by the fire, "How long until they dry off?"

"They should dry off by tomorrow. I'm surprised your shoes didn't end up soaked through," Steven said looking at her shoes.

Vali flushed lightly as she rubbed between Pikachu's ears earning a soft chaa of pleasure, "I might've used what magic I could to prevent to make them truly water resistant. I can't do much, but small things like that aren't too hard."

Steven chuckled softly, "It makes me wonder what else your can do."

Vali shrugged only to stop when Pidgey nipped her ear showing her displeasure at the act, "To be honest, I'm not too sure what all I can do. Without a wand helping to guide my powers, it's difficult to use them. I'm trying to train myself, but wandless magic is really hard on the body."

"Really?" Steven looked at her curiously.

Vali nodded lightly as her mind went back to when her wand stopped working for her, "Had it been about a year ago, I wouldn't have been able to make my shoes truly waterproof which out going unconscious and the spell failing. Sirius has it a bit easier than me mostly because of his animagus form."

"The 'grimm' right?" Steven asked earning a nod, "Do you think you'll be able to do something like that?"

Vali shook her head, "Not any time soon, maybe in a few years."

The rain didn't let off for two days and traveling through Viridian Forest slowed down considerably until the mud dried. It slowed further when they came across another nest of Beedrill and a third den of Raticate. They were even more aggressive than the last ones and Steven's Metagross had to create psychic barrier around them to keep from getting hit by any attacks. By the time they made camp, all of them were too tired to train and Claydol ended up keeping up some psychic barriers since there was a chance that the aggravated pokemon would attack them. They also weren't the only ones to face any problem thanks to the storm and had come across multiple bug catchers or other trainers that had gotten hurt because of the aggressive pokemon. Of course, they did come across one casualty from the aggressive pokemon and were given a show of the true nature of pokemon.

Vali covered her mouth and swallowed back the bile that rose up in her throat as Steven ushered her away from the scene. A boy, he had to be younger than her by a year at least, was being feasted on by a whole group of Raticate and Rattata. When they were far enough away, Steven stopped pushing her and she finally released the contents of her stomach into a bush. She felt Steven pull back her hair, but focused on getting rid of what was in her stomach. By the time she was done, she was shaking and could barely hold the water bottle Steven gave her. It took her a few minutes before she could properly focus and by that time, Metagross had appeared and held two pokeballs in their hands. Steven took them as she asked, "W-where did they get those?"

"I had Metagross go back and collect the boy's filled pokeballs," Steven explained making her pale at the reminder of the scene they'd passed, "I'll be sending them off to Professor Oak once we get to the pokemon center in Pewter," He looked at her in concern, "Will you be alright?"

Vali nodded after drinking a bit more water, "Y-yeah. I just didn't expect to see anything like that so soon into my journey or that those pokemon would be doing it. I mean I know they're omnivores, but..."

"It must have been the storm," Steven theorized as he placed the pokeballs into his bag, "We'll have to be more careful while we travel the next few days," He placed a hand on Vali's shoulder and squeezed lightly, "I'm sorry you had to see that, Vali. While it's better that it happened sooner rather than later, it is still a bit much for a new trainer,"

Vali closed her eyes, "I-it's okay."

Steven didn't say anything in reply since there really wasn't anything he could say. While they taught the true nature of pokemon in schools, they also made training a pokemon seem like a fun adventure. Later that night after they'd gone to sleep, Vali had woken up due to a nightmare with the boy's body being replaced by Sirius'. Steven had woken up to her screaming, but instead of getting angry, he had simply pulled her into a hug and held her as she cried. He hadn't asked what she'd seen only offered her words of comfort and let her fall asleep against him. In the morning, she had gotten embarrassed, but Steven waved it off and said that he hadn't minded it as well as expected it.

The rest of the trip through Viridian Forest wasn't as bad as those few days, but they did end up encountering quite a few more aggressive than normal pokemon. The plus side of the trip meant her pokemon not only learned their moves, but also managed to get every other move they knew down pat. Pidgey had also picked up Gust and Quick Attack which would only benefit her flying type in the future. It was as they were traveling out of the forest that they encountered an incredibly foul tempered and bigger than normal male Nidoran that seemed to have it out for them. Balto managed to take it down with Metagross backing him up, but Vali had ended up hit with a Poison Sting attack. Most of the needles missed her, she ended up with five sticking out of her side.

As soon as they were out of Viridian Forest, Steven had her sit down and began pulling out the poisonous needles with a pair of specialized tweezers. Vali grit her teeth as Steven got them out, "Let's never go in there again, okay?"

"Agreed," Steven finished pulling out the needles and began cleaning off the blood that had spilled from the wounds which wasn't much, "This will sting a bit," Steven pulled out a can of antidote from her bag and began spraying it causing her to hiss in pain even as it made the chill of the poison vanish, "I'm glad you got those extra poison resistance shots,"

"Me too," Vali closed her eyes, "I wonder what made it so angry. The storm happened almost a week and a half ago. They're usually docile unless challenged or their heard is under attack,"

Steven finished spraying the antidote and capped it before pulling out some bandages, "It was alone which isn't normal unless the pokemon was captured. Either it got separated from it's herd during the storm or it was kicked out for whatever reason."

Vali sighed as she opened her eyes, "Well whatever the reason, we should probably get out of here and get to Pewter since that Nidoran will probably come looking for us as soon as it wakes up," Steven nodded in agreement as he finished patching up her side and moved away from her allowing Vali to pull her shirt down again, "I'm definitely going to see one of the doctors in the Pokemon center just to be on the safe side," Balto whined softly and she reached out to pet him as she glanced down at her pokeballs, "I also want to get my pokemon checked out and get in a shower,"

"Let's get going then," Steven finished packing up and held out a hand to her and she took it allowing him to help her up, "I'm sorry for not pulling you out of the way,"

Vali shook her head as they began heading towards Pewter city which was a few miles ahead of them across some plains, "Don't worry about it, we're all tired from the last two and a half weeks not to mention I should've been a lot more careful," Steven looked like he wanted to argue, "Neither of us noticed him directing that attack at us since we were sure our pokemon had knocked him out. At the very least, the whole event will make sure I'm more aware of my surroundings even when I'm so tired," Steven still looked like he wanted to argue, "How about you restock my antidotes in return?"

"I can do that," Steven still looked like he was about to apologize.

Vali ran a hand through her hair and grimace, "I'm definitely getting a shower in the moment I can though,"

She had been lucky that Steven didn't mind her borrowing Squirtle to get rid of most of the dirt and sweat that coated her body. She still didn't smell very good, but at the very least, she was fairly clean. Steven made an agreeing noise after sniffing his shirt, "I think that makes two of us."

"I'm also going to be pampering my pokemon when I can. They definitely deserve it after everything," Balto let out a soft woof showing his agreement.

Entering Pewter city, they headed towards the pokemon center using Steven's map app on his Pokenav. The pokemon center was smaller than the Viridian City one, but then again, it usually only catered to trainers during the first few months of the season. The Nurse Joy offered them a kind smile, "Viridian Forest?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Vali offered her a weak grin beginning to feel kind of light headed, "Could we get two rooms and our pokemon checked out?"

"Of course," Nurse Joy nodded and Vali returned the only pokemon currently out which was Balto, "Anything else?"

"She got hit with around five Poison Sting needles from a male Nidoran that was far more aggressive than normal," Steven answered as they placed their pokemon onto the trays that Nurse Joy had set on the counter, "As soon as we got out of the forest, I took out the needles and provided field care for the injury. Can she see one of the human doctors on staff?"

Nurse Joy immediately offered Vali a look of concern, "Come into the back with me, Miss..."

"Vali," Vali said as she handed over her pokedex which held her trainer ID.

"Vali," Nurse Joy took the pokedex while looking at Steven, "Please wait out here, I will give you the room keys once I've gotten Vali taken care of,"

"Of course," Steven nodded as he looked at Vali in concern.

Vali would have said something if she didn't feel sleepy or light headed. Nurse Joy began directing her into the back only for her vision to go grey as her ears rang.

Steven looked at Vali's feverish form in worry, "Is she going to be okay?"

He had been extremely worried when she'd collapsed like a puppet with it's strings cut in the lobby. While he had noticed her getting a bit pale towards the end of their walk to the pokemon center, he hadn't thought much of it since they'd just spent two and a half weeks underneath heavy tree cover. Not to mention, he'd been sure that he'd gotten rid of the poison with the antidote.

"She will be fine," Nurse Joy assured him as she directed him to sit down on one of the guest chairs scattered through out the human recovery wing in the pokemon center, "That Nidoran must be close to evolving as it's poison was stronger than it usually is,"

"I suppose," Steven sat down in the chair, "When will she wake up?"

"It shouldn't be more than a day or two," Nurse Joy moved to Vali and began to mop up the sweat coating her brow, "Honestly, I'm not surprised this happened. Five Poison Sting needles is a bit much for anyone even with the double resistance shot she has. She is still young, so these things will happen," Nurse Joy looked at Steven, "I would advise against traveling for at least a week and a half. While she'll bounce back, she'll be fairly weak during that time even when her fever breaks,"

Steven nodded already planning on them staying in Pewter for three weeks. Vali's team would need as much time as possible to prepare for their first gym battle. He also wanted to explore the museum and talk to Flint about Mount Moon. He looked at Vali again and felt his heart drop a bit. He was the experienced trainer between them and should have been paying more attention. She should've never gotten hurt-Steven jerked back and looked at Nurse Joy in shock as his hand went to his forehead which had just been flicked, "Nurse Joy?"

"I doubt Vali would like you blaming yourself for what happened," Nurse Joy told him with a kind smile, "Accidents will always happen, they just occur more often with wild pokemon being involved. Instead of blaming yourself, I would advise you to think of ways to prevent it,"

Steven looked at Vali and decided that Nurse Joy was right.

Vali's head was pounding and her body felt sluggish as she slowly came to. She groaned softly and slowly reached up to press a hand to her forehead. She felt almost as weak as two years ago. It was disconcerting and made her wonder what happened. She opened her eyes only to groan and close her eyes against the bright florescent light. Once her eyes adjusted, she opened them and found herself looking at what seemed like a hospital ceiling. She grimaced in confusion and turned her head when she heard, "Vali?"

"S-steven-" She started coughing.

Steven held her sit up and drink some water, "Easy, you've been unconscious with a fever for a few days."

"Thank you," Vali murmured after he took the glass away and let her lay back against the pillows, "Why did I have a fever?"

"The Poison Sting was more powerful than we first thought," Steven explained as he sat down on the chair next to the bed, "Your body has been fighting the poison which is why you had the fever and more than likely feel weak,"

Vali remembered them reaching the pokemon center, but that was about it, "Are my pokemon okay?"

They had been hit by the Nidoran's Poison Sting as well and unlike most of Steven's pokemon, her's didn't have an real resistance to poison. Steven nodded lightly, "They're fine and should be leaving Nurse Joy's care by tonight," Vali sighed in relief earning a smile from Steven, "How are you feeling?"

"Weak and my head feels like someone decided to use it as a drum," Vali closed her eyes for a moment feeling tired, "What have you been doing since I fell unconscious?"

"I've gotten all of our clothes washed, I restocked your antidotes as promised, and I also informed your family about what happened," Steven answered making her eyes snap open, "Miss Delia was very relieved to hear that you would be okay though she wants you to follow Nurse Joy's orders as best you can. After realizing you were going to be okay, Ash began asking if you'd have a scar from it," Vali's eyes rolled since of course her little brother figure would ask about scars since they were 'cool', "Miss Delia also mentioned that she would be telling Mister Black as well as ensuring that he wouldn't charge over here the moment he could to check on you. She wants you to call her as soon as you can,"

Vali smiled and shook her head, "Thank you, Steven. I doubt I would've been able to tell them everything."

Steven chuckled softly, "No problem, Vali. I should go tell Nurse Joy that you've woken up."

Vali remembered the boy's body in the forest and asked, "D-did you send the pokemon off to Professor Oak?"

Steven paused in the middle of standing up before continuing, "Yes and he told me a bit about the boy," He sighed softly, "His name was Grant Fuller and he was a student at one of the pokemon academies up until a month ago due to the fact he got frustrated due to not progressing as fast as he wanted. He took his Shellder and Pidgey and left the academy. No one knew where he'd gone, but now they know where he ended up. Nine years old and already dead."

Vali and Steven both grimaced at that. Clearly, the academy he'd gone to hadn't prepared him enough. Nothing would ever really prepare someone for a pokemon journey which was why things like that could happen.

Vali was out of the recovering trainers wing within two days of waking up with the warning to take it easy. While she didn't really mind the place, she didn't like sitting around and doing nothing. Even going through her pokedex and going over strategies for her first gym battle only kept her mind occupied for a little bit, she did spend a good bit of those two days sleeping to regain her strength and bonding further with her pokemon which was nice. The first thing she did after leaving the recovering trainers wing was go to the room she'd gotten and take a long shower. She also took the time to give all of her pokemon a bath though Smaug didn't get into the tub. He sat on a stool sitting inside a rather large metal tub holding his tail up while she scrubbed his scales clean. While Smaug's species could bathe themselves by breathing fire onto their scales, they couldn't always get everything.

Vali headed downstairs to get some lunch and found Steven waiting in the cafeteria. He looked up and smiled at her, "Have a nice shower?"

"Yup and I pampered everyone a bit," Vali said while gesturing to Pikachu.

Pikachu sparked happily which showed of the sheen to his fur. A proper cleaning had really helped the cautious pokemon get closer to her which was the whole reason she did it. Steven let out a laugh and they went to go get food, "That's good. Have you decided what you're going to do?"

"I think I'm just going to call my family to check in and spend a bit more time relaxing with everyone," Vali answered as she chose a bowl of spaghetti, a small bowl of mixed fruit, a few rolls, and a bottle of water, "I think we're all still a bit worn down from the forest,"

Steven nodded as they headed towards a table after getting some food for their pokemon, "That doesn't sound like a bad idea."

Vali made sure her pokemon were satisfied with their meals before asking, "How long are we going to be in Pewter?"

"Three weeks," Steven answered earning a surprised look from Vali, "I had planned on staying here that long before we encountered that Nidoran, so it didn't really mess up any plans. You'll need at least a week and a half to fully recover according to Nurse Joy. Since this is your first gym battle and you don't have any pokemon that have an advantage over rock types, I felt it would be best to give you more time to train," Vali nodded as she began eating, "I also thought that would give me ample time to learn more about the Museum here and Mount Moon,"

Vali's mind went back to one of the pokemon she'd been hoping to catch at some point, "Sandshrew can be found at Mount Moon, right?"

"Yes. Did you want to catch one?" Steven asked her curiously earning a nod, "May I ask why?"

"To be quite honest, they're my favorite ground-type outside of Tyranitar, Camerupt, Flygon, and Garchomp," Vali admitted with a sheepish smile, "I've always loved how they and their evolved form battle. They may not be as powerful as some pokemon, but they're experts at battling especially once they're under ground. They're also really cute,"

Steven chuckled at her last comment, "I will admit that they're an interesting pokemon and that I was hoping to catch one as well," At her curious look, he explained, "They're excellent diggers and can easily extract stones from rocks with far more precision than most humans are capable of. They're said to be better than even Drilbur and Excadrill though I'm still going to try and find an Excadrill as they are a steel-type,"

Vali took out her pokedex as she remembered one of the facts that Professor Oak had told her during his lecture on the Sandshrew line about six months back, "Here we are," She read over the extended entry, "Sandshrew and Sandslash are rather unique among ground types. Much like the Swinub line, they have an incredibly sensitive nose which helps them avoid underground water springs while tunneling. They can be trained to find specific types of stones though only in their first form," Vali looked up at Steven, "I suppose that's why you want one right, you like finding precious stones."

"Yes," Steven held out his hand and she handed over the pokedex, "Interesting, I didn't know about that particular ability though I suppose it explains how the leagues are able to procure evolutionary stones for both the league trainers and those that win them in league sponsored tournaments. I don't remember seeing this in my pokedex before,"

"Professor Oak does lectures on certain pokemon every few months and so long as you're there for it, he'll upload an extended entry for said pokemon into your pokedex though he only does it for those that won't abuse the information," Vali explained earning a surprised look from Steven, "I used to sit in for all the lectures that I could both because they're interesting and because it would help me work with any pokemon that I may end up meeting," She flushed lightly as she admitted, "It also got me out of having to do some extracurricular activities with my classmates which was a boon to me since most avoided me on principle due to the fact I was new to Pallet and I was weird," Vali took her pokedex back when he handed it to her and resumed eating her lunch, "Professor Oak didn't mind letting me sit in for the lectures even when school was going on since I would be working with the pokemon that call his corral home whenever I could,"

"You don't really connect with people, do you?" Steven asked earning a nod as shame ran through her.

Vali set down her fork as she admitted, "I never have and most of it was caused by my cousin deciding that he didn't like any of the other kids coming near me growing up. He did it on the orders of my aunt and uncle because they didn't want anyone to find out that the rumors they spread about me were wrong or that I was being abused," She stared at her food, "Connecting to people even without their influence is hard for me."

Vali looked up at Steven expecting to be mocked only to earn an understanding look, "Some people can't connect well with others. I have trouble connecting with people as well though I've managed to overcome my difficulties mostly due to my father and some of the trainers I've become friends with," Steven smiled at her, "I suppose you connect better with pokemon?"

"Yeah. They're a lot easier to understand then again so where the animals that I used to encounter back in my old homeland," Vali had honestly preferred the company of animals back in her old world, "They never had any ulterior motives. Not all of them liked me, but they never hid behind masks and facades. The same can be said with pokemon for the most part,"

Vali called Delia after lunch, "Hello-Vali!"

"Hey, Delia," Vali greeted her with a grin, "Sorry I couldn't call you before now,"

"It's fine since Steven explained what happened. It sounds like the last few weeks haven't been very fun," Delia replied with a sad smile and Vali shrugged lightly feeling her right side twinge slightly in protest, "An abnormally cold rainstorm, territorial pokemon, and wild pokemon attacks,"

"It sounds like a bad movie title to be honest," Delia laughed softly at Vali's attempt to lighten the mood, "I'm better now though I'm going to take it easy for the next week or so. We aren't planning on leaving Pewter for three weeks,"

"That's a good idea," Delia seemed a bit relieved by her words which Vali could understand since the last two and a half weeks really had sucked, "How are you feeling?"

Vali sighed softly, "I'm still really tired, but I'm definitely feeling a lot better than I did after I first woke up," Delia looked relieved making Vali feel guilty, "Have you told Sirius yet?"

"Not yet, he's currently on a mission near Mount Silver and can't talk to anyone at the moment," Delia answered making Vali wonder what he would be doing around there, "Oh yeah, Regulus finally evolved into a Houndoom,"

"Really?" Regulus had been a Houndour since she'd first met him back when Sirius managed to pass enough classes to get a partner from the ranger union, "I was wondering when it would happen since he's been with Siri for a year and a half now,"

"He's absolutely gorgeous too," Vali would bet on that since Sirius kept Regulus in excellent conditions.

Vali hoped she'd be able to see them at some point if only to congratulate Regulus on the evolution. She pushed that thought out of her mind, "So are you off today or is it a lunch break."

"A lunch break. Ash is currently at the corral," Vali was surprised since she thought the boy would be at day camp, "Mary finally had her baby, Travis took the day off to spend time with his family in Viridian, and Luca's still on her sabbatical which means there is anyone to that can take all the kids,"

"Well at the very least, Ash won't be bored and will be learning valuable skills," Vali offered.

"True," A bell sounded in the distance, "That would be my lunch, Vali..."

"I'll call you before we leave Pewter and again when we reached the pokemon center before Mount Moon," Vali promised earning a grin, "Tell Ash I said hi if he isn't there when I call Professor Oak,"

"I will. Be safe and good luck with your gym battle," Delia told her before they hung up.

After everyone had gotten a day to relax and be pampered, they went back to training. Vali spent a lot of time on Flint's trainer page making note of the pokemon he commonly used during first badge battles. He usually used two of three pokemon. He switched between Geodude, Rhyhorn, or Onix. Of course, he did sometimes pull out an unexpected pokemon like Nosepass though it depended on the amount of trainers he usually battled against during the day. She hoped that it would be Geodude and Rhyhorn as those two would be the easiest ones to counter; however, she was aware that she would probably only face one of the two and Onix. She would need to prepare as much as possible for any of the three during the next two weeks. Two weeks should be enough to allow her pokemon to become strong enough to get over type disadvantages leaving the rest to recover from their gym battle. If she lost, she could always come again at a later point in the season even if it meant the battle would be a full six on six.

They would have to do their best regardless and Vali knew they could win. With that determination, Vali had them practicing the moves they could use. They needed to be able to charge them up faster and make them more powerful if they were going to win. She also looked up teaching Smaug Smokescreen which would benefit them in a battle since it could provide him cover. She began making plans on how to teach it to him since it was in his natural move set. She looked up from her pokedex when Steven sat down next to her, "Hey, Steven. Done raiding the library for the day?"

"For now," He looked at her pokemon which had been joined by his, "What are you guys doing today?"

"I'm mostly having them work on charging their attacks faster. While they have them down, they're charging them at a slow rate which isn't going to win us any battles in higher tier fights," Vali looked at Smaug charging up his Metal claw and noted that it took less than a minute which was better, "I'm also trying to figure out who to use in my first gym battle. Since none of them have an advantage, I'm having a lot of trouble deciding. I know that I want to put either Smaug or Balto out despite their disadvantage, but that doesn't help me decide since Pikachu and Pidgey have been working hard too. While Pidgey won't be affected by any of Flint's ground-type attacks, she'll end up losing if she gets hit by a rock-type attack due to her fragile body. The same could be said for Pikachu especially since he doesn't have the advantage of not being affected by ground type attacks," She pulled up her notes on Flint and showed Steven, "Flint usually uses Geodude, Ryhorn, or Onix with a few others like Nosepass though it depends on the amount of trainers he's battling during the day. I can't use Pikachu against Ryhorn simple because his electrical attacks will be absorbed by Ryhorn's horn which acts as a natural lightning rod,"

Steven looked over her notes with a critical eye, "Maybe you should use Balto and Smaug? Both are fast and don't have fragile bodies not to mention Balto is an experienced pokemon. From your notes, you're planning on teaching Smaug Smokescreen which will definitely be a great help in dealing with the rock types. Flint will also not be expecting to face two fire types in a row especially not one that isn't usually found near here."

Vali thought about it carefully before nodding, "I think you're right plus I can always use Pikachu and Pidgey in the next gym battle especially since the leaders use water type pokemon."

Steven handed back her pokedex, "How are you planning on teaching Smaug Smokescreen? It won't be too easy to teach despite being a part of his natural move set."

"There are videos online and in the pokedex," Vali returned her pokedex back to the page she'd been looking at, "It shouldn't be too hard especially since he already releases a minor amount of smoke each time he breaths. Charmander and many other species capable of using the move produce small amounts of potassium nitrate which is the main ingredient used to make smoke bombs. All Smaug has to do is release the chemical from wherever its stored within his body and release it into his inner flame which he will then be able to breath it out thus creating Smokescreen. Of course, it won't be very dense as his body isn't storing much of it both due to him not knowing the technique and because he doesn't really need much,"

"Where did you learn that?" Steven asked with a raised eyebrow.

Vali hummed lightly, "Professor Oak has a Charizard and didn't mind telling me about his species especially since he was reviewing the material for his lecture on them about a year and a few days ago."

"I should definitely sit in on some of his lectures when I have the time," Steven decided making her giggle, "So other than that, what will you be teaching Balto?"

"Reversal. Rock-types are weak against fighting-type moves," Vali had marked it down earlier when she was looking for moves her pokemon could use, "I'm also planning on teaching him Retaliate at some point,"

"A good plan though it'll be tough for Balto to learn Reversal since he both isn't a Fighting-type and doesn't have any arms," Steven noted earning a shrug from her.

Reversal was a move Balto could learn and she'd be damned if she didn't help him learn it.

A week into training, Vali decided to give her pokemon a half-day and headed to the Pewter city museum with Steven. The museum was two stories high and huge. They ended up spending most of their time in the exhibits from Mount Moon and the one about fossil pokemon. She ended up pointing out a few specimens that either Professor Oak contributed or Sirius did through the Ranger union. She found out more about Steven's love of all things stones and his rather vast knowledge on them though he supposedly still had a lot to learn. She also ended up telling him about her wish to actually have a Aurorus. While she may love fire-types to death, she absolutely adored the ancient ice-type.

Vali was able to get experience battling against rock and ground-types thanks to Pewter being a hub for them. She won and lost an equal number of battles though each one proved to be a learning experience that would only help her in the long run. Smaug learned Smokescreen near the end of her two week deadline while Balto was struggling heavily with Reversal. While she had wished he would've learned it by now, she understood that the move was very hard for him to learn because of his lack of arms. He still had Iron tail which would definitely help with their gym battle.

Steven scheduled his gym battle the day before hers and she went to go cheer him on as well as get a look at Flint's battling style in person. Seeing videos was nice, she would feel better watching in person. It would give her an even better understanding of his battling style which would only benefit her pokemon more. The Pewter city gym was a bit lackluster on the outside since it just looked like some boulders piled onto one another, but the inside more than made up to it. The field was perfect for rock-type pokemon while also allowing for other pokemon save for water types to have an even ground. It wouldn't exactly help, but it wouldn't hinder either. As they walked into the gym, Vali spotted a man that she recognized due to the videos she'd been watching ever since Viridian City. Flint was an imposing man with tan skin and spiky brown hair. Flint's eyes were closed which made her wonder how he saw anything. He wore a yellow t-shirt with rolled up sleeves, a black belt with a silver buckle, dark teal cargo pants, and black shoes. Flint spoke as they reached the battlefield, "Which one of you is the challenger?"

"I am, Sir," Steven said as they stopped, "My friend is only watching the battle today,"

"She will be coming in tomorrow for a battle, won't she?" Flint asked looking at Vali earning a nod, "I see. Head into the stands,"

"Good luck, Steven," Vali told him.

"Thank you," Steven replied and she headed to the stands.

Taking a seat, Vali watched as a referee appeared. The man spoke, "This is a gym battle between Pewter Cities Gym Leader Flint Slate and Steven Stone of Mossdeep City in Hoenn. The battle will be a two on two with only the challenger being allowed to switch."

"It's time to battle Squirtle," Steven said sending out his Squirtle as Flint sent out a Goedude that looked bigger than normal and had a few scars on its body, "Start off with Water Gun,"

"A type advantage? While smart, it won't win this battle for you," Flint called out with a smirk, "Geodude dodge and use Rollout,"

Squirtle let loose a powerful stream of water that Steven had managed to make powerful enough to shatter small boulders. While Geodude had managed to dodge it for the most part, the rock-type let out a groan of pain as it was clipped by the very edge of the attack. That didn't stop Geodude before curling in on itself and rushing towards Squirtle at a speed that the rock-type shouldn't be possible. Squirtle wouldn't be able to dodge in time and Steven knew it so he called out, "Squirtle hunker down and use Withdraw! When it hits, hit it point blank with a Bubble Beam into Water Gun."

Squirtle withdrew into his shell just in time, but that didn't save him from the powerful attack. Squirtle was quick to follow Steven's instructions and managed to hit Geodude with a Bubble Beam that clearly hurt it though the rock-type managed to get away before it could be hit by the Water Gun that followed. Flint chuckled softly, "You're not doing too bad, Kid. Geodude, hit that Squirtle with Rock Throw."

Geodude dug into the ground and pulled out some rock chunks before beginning to throw them at Squirtle. Squirtle dodged them as Steven called out, "Squirtle, keep dodging as best you can and use Withdraw when it becomes too hard. When there is a break in his attacks, use Water Gun again."

Vali's heart was beginning to beat harshly in her chest as the battle continued. Despite being a younger pokemon, Squirtle wasn't doing that bad. He was doing pretty damn good. From what she can tell, Flint's strategy with Geodude was mostly hit hard and fast. If she had to face Geodude, it might be best to send out Smaug first if only because Smokescreen would offer the best benefits. Squirtle did as his trainer asked though it was clear dodging wasn't his favorite thing in the world. He would need a lot of stamina training which she didn't doubt Steven was now noticing.

Geodude had a lot of attack stamina, but even it had to take breaks. Squirtle managed to hit it with a powerful Water Gun which sent the Geodude skidding back. It wasn't enough to knock it out, bit a few more would probably do it as the water was clearly taking a toll on the rock-type. Geodude let out a grunt as it pulled itself up and Flint called out, "Geodude use Rock Polish and Defense Curl!"

"Squirtle hit it with as powerful a Water Gun as possible!" Steven called out with a slight frown showing that he didn't like the combination Flint was trying.

Rock Polish would make it faster while Defense Curl would raise its defense making it harder for Squirtle to hit the rock-type much less deal damage to it. Squirtle managed to disrupt its focus, but only after it had used Rock Polish. Flint looked a bit displeased by the disruption, but went with it as he called out, "Rollout again, we need to knock that turtle out."

"Squirtle wait and hit it with Bubble Beam!" Steven called out.

Vali looked at Squirtle and understood why he wasn't ordering his pokemon to dodge. The turtle was panting hard and was probably having trouble moving too much. Even with the training he'd been put through, Squirtle had the lowest stamina outside of Bulbasaur between the three Kanto starters. Squirtle grunted and watched the blur that was Geodude approach before releasing a a beam of bubbles that rushed towards the rock-type. Geodude powered through the attack and rammed into Squirtle sending the turtle flying. Squirtle landed roughly on his side and laid there panting as Geodude stopped rolling around. Both pokemon looked a little worse for wear, Squirtle was the worse off than Geodude. Squirtle struggled to his feet and managed to stay there though it would probably only take another good hit before the turtle passed out.

Flint chuckled softly, "That Squirtle of yours is well trained for such a young pokemon."

"Thank you, but it's all Squirtle," Steven replied before looking at his pokemon, "Do you wish to continue?" Squirtle grunted and nodded as his body gained a blue aura to it that looked like water, "Very well,"

"Geodude," Flint called and the rock-type glanced at him, "That turtle activated its ability, we need to end this quick. Use Rollout once more!"

Geodude grunted in reply before doing as its trainer bid. Squirtle glared at Geodude as it blurred towards him and Steven called out, "Use Bubble Beam with as much power as you can muster!"

The Bubble Beam Squirtle unleashed was far more powerful than any that he'd released before which only proved how strong a pokemon's attacks were if abilities like Torrent were involved. An mini-explosion of dust was kicked up and took a few minutes to clear. When it did, Squirtle was passed out on the ground with Geodude barely managing to stay conscious long enough for the Referee to say, "Winner Gym Leader Flint! Challenger release your next pokemon!"

Squirtle was returned and Steven called out Aggron, "Squirtle was taken out. I need your help, my friend."

Aggron let out a metallic growl as Flint returned his passed out Geodude and released an Onix which was by far the largest pokemon she'd seen. It was a dark almost black grey showing that it was an older pokemon and covered in scars from a past battle. Steven would have his hands full with this one, but she knew he would win. Aggron was definitely more than enough to beat that monster. Flint let out a whistle, "An Aggron? It's been a long time since I've seen one of them. Well, Mr. Stone, you just turned into an even more interesting opponent."

Steven smiled lightly before turning his head towards Aggron as the large steel and rock-type roared out a challenge towards his opponent, "Aggron, I want to start off with Metal Sound."

Vali quickly covered her ears which didn't exactly help much to block out the horrible screech that left Aggron's throat. If there was one move she disliked, it was that Metal Sound. Onix roared in agony as Aggron charged up a Flash Cannon which only increased the Onix's pain as the silver and grey beam slammed into it as it tried to recover from its exposure to Metal Sound. Flint looked displeased, "Onix, shake off the pain and immobilize that Aggron with Rock Tomb!"

Onix created a ball of rocks above its head before sending it at Aggron. Aggron let out a grunt as he was hit with the rocks and subsequently became trapped. Steven frowned slightly, "Aggron break out with Iron Tail and hit that Onix with Ice Beam. Trap its tail!"

While Aggron was breaking out of Rock Tomb, Onix headed underground with dig. Aggron let out a cry of pain as Onix appeared under him, but got revenge by hitting the rock and ground-type with a point blank Ice Beam causing Onix to cry out again. The battle between the two giants continued along that vein for a while before Aggron managed to hit Onix with a Brick Break right where its head boulder connected to the rest of its body. Onix went down with a grating groan and didn't move after that. Aggron let out a roar of victory and turned to Steven. Steven smiled warmly at his pokemon as Aggron walked over. Vali rushed down from the stands and said, "That was amazing, Steven! I was kind of worried when Onix hit Aggron with that Dig, but then Aggron managed to use Ice Beam on it!" Vali looked at Aggron and beamed at the giant, "You were awesome, Aggron! That was the best battle I've seen in person so far!"

Aggron let out a pleased growl at the praise as he lowered his head and allowed her to scratch underneath one of his horns as he wagged his tail slightly. Steven let out a laugh, "You aren't wrong. Nicely done, Aggron."

Aggron let out a contented growl that changed into a slight snarl when Flint cleared his throat. Steven shushed Aggron as Flint said, "The girl is right, Mr. Stone. The battle was one of the best I've had so far this season."

"Well, you can thank my pokemon for that," Steven said as he returned Aggron, "They've trained very hard for every battle we've fought,"

"I do not doubt it," Flint inclined his head before holding a badge out to Steven, "Here is the Boulder Badge. I hope that when you finish collecting the badges this season that you'll return so that we can battle on even footing. I'd like to see what you can do against my real league team,"

Steven nodded and shook Flint's hand after taking the badge, "I would mind though I hope you don't mind me coming by to pick your brain about Mount Moon while Vali and I are in town."

"Of course not," Flint smiled at Steven before turning to Vali, "I hope you and your pokemon put up a good fight, Miss..."

"Vali Potter," Vali answered earning a nod, "I hope we do, but you shouldn't expect too much since I've only been a trainer for a month and a half give or take a few weeks,"

"Well, I'm still looking forward to the battle," Flint replied before shooing them, "You should get that Squirtle checked out. I have another challenger today that should be arriving within the hour,"

They said their goodbyes and headed out of the gym. Steven looked at her as they left the gym, "So how do you think you'll do tomorrow?"

Vali was silent for a little bit before replying, "I think we can manage it. While we might not put on much of a show, we should be able to win."

"If not, we can always come back at a later point," Steven said earning a nod, "Though I'm sure you'll win,"

Vali grinned at him, "You bet we will! By the way," She looked at Aggron's pokeball as well as Squirtle's, "You really were amazing out there. I really can't wait until my team and I reach your level."

"I look forward to our battles when you guys reach that level," Steven told her with a slight grin, "My team is too,"

The next day dawned earlier for Vali and her team. They were all nervous even Pikachu and Pidgey despite the fact they weren't going to be participating in the battles today. They weren't angry about that fact though it was a little disappointing. They understood why it was happening this way even if it wasn't something they liked. Smaug was a bit more aggressive than normal while Balto had become quiet and still. The two seemed to understand the gravity of the battle that was ahead of them and wouldn't let her down no matter what. Because of this, Vali knew that win or lose, she would be proud of them.

Even if her nervousness was making it hard, she ate her breakfast while going over the strategies that she had. Steven watched her with a slight smile though he did take her pokedex away when her fork missed her mouth. With a flush, she worked on eating her breakfast before taking her pokedex back. An hour before her gym battle, she took Balto and Smaug to the training field behind the Pokemon Center, "Okay you two," They looked at her with determination in their eyes, "This is our first official Gym battle, we've been preparing for this our whole time in Pewter and even before then. I don't think I need to tell you how important this battle is," Smaug spat out an ember as Balto let out a soft bark, "We've worked so hard and I know we can do this despite our disadvantages. I want both of you to stay calm and do your best no matter what. Smaug, I'm likely going to be sending you out first mostly because we're likely facing either Geodude or Ryhorn. I don't think I need to explain why," Smaug nodded, "Balto, you're likely going to be facing an Onix," Balto looked a little unsure, "I know the idea is a bit scary, but you can do it. I'm trust you," Balto nodded with a low growl, "Now, I want to say one last thing," They looked at her curiously and she pulled them into a light hug, "Win or lose today, I will be proud of you two. This is the first real chapter in our story together."

Pulling away, shew knew by the looking their eyes that defeat was not an option which only made her heart warm. They would win this!

Flint was waiting in the same place he'd stood the day before. He grinned at Vali, "Welcome back Miss Vali, I'm looking forward to our battle."

"I am as well," Vali replied with a light smile.

Steven patted her on the shoulder, "I'll be watching in the stands. Good luck, Vali."

"Thanks, Steven," Vali murmured in reply as he headed towards the stands.

Vali turned back to Flint as the referee appeared, "This is a gym battle between Pewter Cities Gym Leader Flint Slate and Valkyrie Potter of Pallet Town. The battle will be a two on two with only the challenger being allowed to switch."

Vali took a deep breath as butterflies erupted in her stomach at the fact she was actually going to participate in her first gym battle ever. Vali took out Smaug's pokeball and released Smaug, "Come out and battle with me, my friend!"

Smaug appeared with a cute roar and spat out a burst of flames as Flint said, "You do realize this is a rock-type gym, right?"

"I'm aware, but I know we can win this," Vali replied as Smaug growled at Flint for dismissing him.

Flint shook his head and took out a pokeball, "Your funeral, I suppose."

He released a Ryhorn and Vali mentally winced having hoped that they would be facing a Geodude. She supposed that it wasn't exactly a bad match-up since the Ryhorn immediately began pawing at the ground and jumping around a bit when it caught sight of Smaug. Clearly, it was a somewhat recent capture which kind of pissed her off. While they couldn't face his real team just yet, he still should've pulled out a pokemon that had more than a few weeks of training on top of being a bit young. Smaug spat out an ember as she asked, "A recent capture?"

"I caught this one a few months ago," Flint replied causing Vali's hands to curl into a fist, "The Rhyhorn I usually use for these battles evolved during a training battle with this one last night,"

So it wasn't because he underestimated her, but rather because he didn't have another choice. She nodded as she let her hands unclench, "I suppose me watching the gym battle yesterday meant you wouldn't let me face a Geodude?"

Flint inclined his head, "Yes. After all, you have no idea what pokemon you'll end up facing every single time. There is also the fact that you've likely come up with a few battle strategies."

Vali didn't offer a reply to him as she called out to Smaug, "We can't play around, Smaug. Despite that Rhyhorn being fairly new, it's still a gym leaders pokemon," Smaug grunted in understanding and glared at Rhyhorn causing the spikes pokemon to snort angerly, "Let's start off with a mild Ember. We need to know what we're dealing with. Dodge when it comes close. If you can, you know what to do."

Smaug nodded and began spitting out Embers at the Rhyhorn. While the flaming coal-like projectiles weren't as powerful as Flame Thrower, they still had range which had increased the longer Smaug used it. The power had increased as well though it wouldn't be until Smaug evolved into a Charmeleon that he would be able to transform that attack into Flame Thrower. Rhyhorn let out an irritated roar when it got hit by the projectiles and moved out the way without showing much pain. Flint shook his head and called out, "Rhyhorn use Bulldoze!"

Rhyhorn snorted and stamped its foreleg onto the ground before rushing forward as an sandy orange aura covered its body. Smaug quickly dodged to the side though the attack still managed to hit him due to the 100% accuracy, but he managed to slash at the Rhyhorn using a quickly charged Metal Claw along with another Ember attack before quickly getting away. Rhyhorn let out a sharp cry of pain as Smaug's claws raked its side as it slid to a stop and slammed into one of the small boulders sitting on the battlefield. Smaug kept up his Ember attack as Rhyhorn pulled itself lose and turned its body around slowly with a low grunt of annoyance. It glared at Smaug as Vali called out, "Keep it up, Smaug."

Smaug nodding though he stopped spitting Embers. Rhyhorn let out a grunt of annoyance and rushed towards Smaug with its horn glowing bluish white meaning it was using Fury Attack. Unfortunately for Rhyhorn, Smaug had tons of experience with that move due to how much the bug catchers with Beedrill and the wild Beedrill loved using that move. Smaug dodged it with a grunt of annoyance and used any chance he could to hit the rock-type with Metal Claw. He also revealed that he'd been practicing to use the Steel-type move with both his hands. Flint frowned, "That's a fast Charmander you have there."

"Smaug's used to dodging Fury Attack. The Bug Catchers and wild Beedrill love that move," Vali replied as Smaug kept scoring hits on the Rhyhorn that didn't seem to understand that it wasn't going to be able to hit the fire-type like it clearly wanted.

Flint shook his head, "I see. Rhyhorn, use Smack Down!"

Vali cursed as Rhyhorn released an orb of ground type energy and spat it at Smaug. Due to the moves 100% accuracy, it hit Smaug sending him flying back. Smaug slammed into the ground with a cry of pain. Smaug slowly pushed himself up as Vali called out, "Smaug!"

He growled, but managed to push himself to his feet. He glared at Rhyhorn panting softly and looking bruised from where the move had hit him. Rhyhorn let out a roar and darted towards Smaug with its horn lit up with Fury Attack. Smaug dodged though Vali knew that the hit from the Smack Down had worn him down quite a bit. However, he wouldn't be giving up and continued to hit Rhyhorn with Metal Claw. Rhyhorn began stumbling a bit showing that the steel-type move was wearing him down. Flint frowned as he called out, "Use Bulldoze again!"

Rhyhorn stomped onto the ground and rushed towards Smaug coated in the sandy orange aura of Bulldoze. Smaug barely managed to avoid a majority of the hit, but worked through the pain to hit Rhyhorn with his dual Metal Claw attack. Ryhorn stumbled again and Vali remembered one of the things Professor Oak had said about Rhyhorn during a lecture a year ago. The underbelly of the Rhyhorn wasn't as strong as the top of its body due especially towards the back due to a majority of the tough plating being focused at its front. With that in mind, Vali called out, "Aim for its underside, Smaug! It's a softer than the top of its body!"

Smaug nodded with a low growl. When Rhyhorn rushed towards him with another Fury Attack, Smaug used the jumping action Rhyhorn used to power up its attacks and slammed two metal claws into the rock and ground-types gut causing Rhyhorn to cry out in pain. Smaug got out from under Ryhorn and scored another hit under the rock and ground-types chin. Eventually the onslaught proved too much and Rhyhorn went down, Smaug stumbled away from the rock and ground-type panting heavily. He looked a little worse for wear, but proud as he turned to Vali. She beamed at him as Flint recalled his Rhyhorn, "That was unexpected."

The Referee called out, "Winner Valkyrie. Gym Leader Flint release your next pokemon."

"Good job, Smaug," She told the Charmander, "Do you want to continue or do you want to return?" Smaug shook his head and turned back towards the battlefield, "Alright, but I'll recall you if it seems to be too much,"

Smaug grunted and Vali realized he was planning to do as much damage as he could before Balto was sent out. Vali's heart warmed at the thought and she mentally promised to give him as many Cheri berries as she could. She also mentally hit herself for forgetting about using Smokescreen during the battle and promised herself to use it in the next one. Flint released his Onix which turned out to be a diffrent one from yesterday. It wasn't as young or as newly caught as Rhyhorn. It was as big as Aggron and about the length of two box trucks. Its boulder body was a concrete grey and it had a few scars though none of them matched the ones that Flint's elder Onix. She was glad that he wasn't using that beast of a Onix if only because they didn't have a chance in hell to beat it at their current level. Maybe in a few months, but not right now. Smaug stepped back a bit before swallowing and letting a growl which caused Onix to roar in reply. Flint chuckled, "That's a brave Charmander you have there."

"That he is," Vali looked at her starter, "Smaug, try to avoid getting close. Use the cover plan we've been going over and do your best,"

Smaug nodded and turned to Onix with resolution in his eyes and a burning determination to do his best. He wouldn't give up even if it meant going unconscious. Balto would need all the help he could get and Smaug was willing to help his Alpha out. Smaug knew from his talks with the Growlithe that Balto was the alpha of their pack and he, Smaug, would be the enforcer even when they were fully evolved. After all, Balto had known their trainer far longer and thus, was the only one truly able to be called alpha. Smaug clenched his fists and glared at the giant in front of him. He could do this.

Flint started off the battle, "Onix, use Rock Polish and Rock Throw."

Onix groaned and began to glow a bluish white before using Rock Throw. Smaug released a few clouds of Smokescreen as Vali bit her bottom lip holding Smaug's pokeball in her hand ready to recall him. She watched Onix carefully as Smaug released another few clouds making the cloud cover denser especially around Onix. Onix paused and began looking around as she murmured, "C'mon Smaug."

"Smokescreen, huh," Flint frowned at the smoke, "I'm surprised you didn't use it during our battle,"

"Let's just say you surprised me a bit with that Rhyhorn," Vali was still beating herself up about that since lowering Rhyhorn's accuracy could have saved them a bit of damage with those 100% accuracy attack it had.

Onix let out a roar of pain and began to wither around showing that Smaug had started his attack. He wouldn't be able to keep it up for long, but at the very least, Balto wouldn't be at such a disadvantage. Flint's frown deepened and he called out, "Onix, when it attacks you again, capture it with Bind!"

Onix roared in pain again and seemed to be swishing around his tail. Smaug managed to dodge and release more clouds of Smokescreen prompting Vali to cover her mouth using her shirt. She mentally vowed to get a scarf for moments like these as well as some goggles which would be useful for when Pidgey evolved into her final evolution. Finally, Onix managed to catch her starter and began to use bind on him. Smaug cried out in pain though he did manage to score a few more hits with Metal Claw and Ember before he fell unconscious. Onix released Smaug onto the ground in one of the few clear spaces as the Referee called out, "Winner Gym Leader Flint. Challenger, please call out your next pokemon."

Vali returned Smaug whispering to the pokeball, "You did good. Balto and I will take care of the rest. Rest now, Smaug."

The ball warmed in her hands and shook a bit before stilling as the metal grew cool showing that he'd heard her. Vali placed his ball in its spot before pulling out Balto's pokeball. She released him, "Come out and battle with me, my friend!" Balto appeared in a burst of red light and barked wagging his tail for a few moments before pausing as he took in the sight before him, "Balto," He stepped back a bit at the sight of Onix before looking at her, "Smaug managed to take out Rhyhorn and dealt some damage to Onix before being knocked out. We can't let his efforts be in vain."

Balto barked and stilled tensing as Flint called out, "Another fire-type and a Growlithe at that...Trying to become a fire-type master, are you?"

"Something like that," Vali looked down at Balto as she murmured softly knowing he would be able to hear her, "Avoid that tail as best you can. Onix are slow creatures though this one managed to use Rock-Polish. Hide in the Smokescreen as long as possible while allowing your ears to be your guide if your nose can't find Onix," Balto's ears twitched towards her, "Attack using Ember or Iron tail whenever you can, but do your best to avoid getting hit. Use Leer too, I know we don't use it as much as our offensive attacks, but it will only help us in this case,"

Balto nodded and took off into the smoke as Flint commented, "Well I suppose that explains a lot though it won't help you at all in this case. Onix find that pup and hit it with Rock Throw!"

Onix looked around the smoke which was starting to dissipate now that there wasn't anything producing it. The movements it made would allow Balto to find it through the smoke if his nose wasn't able to sniff it out. She made a mental note to train Balto to be able to smell things through smoke. As a fire type, his lungs were made to deal with smoke even if too much wasn't healthy for anyone outside of those that created it or were from the Magby line. Vali shook those thoughts from her mind as Onix let out a cry of pain as Balto suddenly appeared and slammed his glowing tail into the rocky body of the rock and ground-type. He disappeared back into the smoke before reappearing again from another direction to inflict more damage with that attack plus an Ember attack. Vali murmured softly hoping that Balto heard, "Aim for the base of its head where its body's connected. That's its weak point."

Whether he heard her or not, Balto managed to dart up Onix's body and slam his glowing tail into the crevice between the Onix's head boulder and the next one. Onix let out a louder roar of pain and began to wither as Balto did his best to hit that spot as many times as he could. Onix managed to throw him off, but the damage was done and the giant was beginning to tire out though it wasn't close to passing out. Flint was frowning, "We need to clear away that smoke. Onix, use Dragon Breath and burn away the smoke and try to hit that Growlithe."

"Balto, you need to get out of there or hide behind a rock. Avoid that attack," Vali called out not really wanting to know what would happen if that attack managed to hit him.

Onix reared back and released a stream of green flames that burnt away the smoke. When it was over, Vali couldn't see Balto anywhere making her wonder where he was. Flint had begun to smile only to frown when Balto was no where to be seen, "Where is that pup?"

They got their answer when Balto burst out of the ground with an Iron Tail aimed at Onix's weak point and managed to put enough power behind the attack to send Onix's head to the ground. Balto quickly spat an Ember attack at Onix before darting away. He panted softly as Onix slowly rose up and glared at the Growlithe. Vali smiled lightly, "You learned Dig from Pikachu, didn't you?"

Pikachu had learned the ground-type move back during their trip through Viridian forest though she still wasn't sure where he'd learned it. Vali was grateful since it allowed Balto to avoid taking damage from the dragon-type move. Balto let out a soft yip and wagged his tail before stilling as he growled at Onix. Flint shook his head, "Those pokemon of yours are something else, Onix," The Onix groaned, "Catch that pup with Bind. Use Rock Polish too as you're not fast enough to catch it."

"Balto keep up the on-slot!" Vali called out earning a bark from Balto, "We're almost there!"

Balto began working double time to avoid the now faster Onix and hit it with Iron Tail while avoiding its powerful tail. Even if his body wasn't as fragile as his teammates, Balto wouldn't be able to stand up to bind for long. Balto managed to avoid the tail and score a few good hits before he tripped on one of the stones from Onix's earlier Rock Throw leading to him being caught. Vali's heart beat quickened and her breath caught only for Balto to manage to break out of Bind with a well aimed Ember toward Onix's eyes which was one of the few vulnerable points on the rock snakes' body. Balto used the Onix's released grip to jump into the air before slamming down on Onix's weak spot with Iron tail which finally managed to knock the beast out. Balto let out a bark as the Referee called out, "W-Winner Challenger Valkyrie Potter."

"Balto," Balto raced towards Vali and she bent down to hug her pup though she made sure not to hug him too hard since he had just been captured in Onix's bind, "You did it. We won!"

Balto began licking her face earning a soft squeal from her and she immediately pulled away to avoid being covered in Growlithe drool. She scratched behind his ears and he leaned into her touch as Steven walked over, "Looks like you guys managed to win, it was a good battle."

"That it was," Flint agreed as he walked over after returning Onix, "You're the most interesting Rookie I've had so far this year. The others from Pallet were either too weak to beat me or barely managed it,"

"Thank you though it was all Balto and Smaug," Vali stood up while returning Balto knowing the pup could use the rest, "I even forgot about using our Smokescreen plan,"

"That happens sometimes," Flint handed the Boulder badge to her, "Here is the Boulder badge. Like I said to Mr. Stone, I hope you come back after your badge run and battle me again,"

"I might take you up on that offer," Vali took the badge feeling her heart race as relief ran through her.

Flint sent them out and Vali stared at the badge in her hand as she left the gym. Steven touched her arm and she looked at him, "How does it feel to have earned your first gym badge?"

"Amazing," She clenched it in her hand and surprised both of them by hugging Steven, "Thank you. If it weren't for your help, I doubt my team and I would've been able to do half as well if we even managed to win. Thank you, Steven,"

Steven relaxed and hugged her back, "It's no problem, but I seriously doubt you would've failed to get the badge even without my help."

Vali flushed and pulled away rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, "Sorry, I'm just so happy."

"I understand," He smiled warmly at her, "Now let's head back to the pokemon center, you do have two pokemon that could really use Nurse Joy's help,"

"Right," Vali said and they started heading to the center.

She looked down at the badge in her hands and everything felt clear to her. She could do this whole journey thing and become a fire-type master. So long as she had her team by her side, they could do it especially if Steven helped them out.