Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon and Harry Potter

BloodyKitsune1997: Here is a new chapter, it's late, but I had a lot of overtime ahead of me. It sucked, I'm tired, but we're here! Keep an eye out on my profile, we might be seeing a Christmas special coming out.

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Guest: The Galar region is an interesting subject for Vali though she would definitely go there at some point. She will have some mixed feeling towards it though won't let it stop her from properly exploring it especially when Ash travels there.

Chapter 22

"I don't know what to do," Vali told Delia after explaining to the woman what Steven had told her the night before, "Steven wants me to come with him to Hoenn, but what if Blaine agrees to have me become his Apprentice? what am I going to do?"

"Oh Vali," Delia sighed deeply as she handed Vali a glass of water and took a seat beside the girl at the table, "This is definitely a tough decision, what do you want to do?"

Vali groaned softly, "That's the problem, Delia, I want both. I want to travel with Steven once again, but I also want to become Blaine's apprentice," She looked at the women feeling a well of stress and pain filling her heart, "I loved traveling with Steven so much, Delia. It was so much fun and I'd love to explore Hoenn with him. But Blaine's apprenticeship offer, it won't always be around..."

Delia frowned softly, "Vali, what does your heart say?"

"It wants me to travel with Steven, but..." Vali hesitated for a moment as she swallowed heavily, "Delia, Blaine's offer won't always be around. I don't think he'd give me another chance even if I impressed him," She looked at the glass of water in her hands, "I...If he offers me the apprenticeship, I...think I'm going to accept it and say no to Steven. I don't know though," She looked up at Delia feeling tears well up, "Why did he have to ask me now, Delia?"

"Because he wanted to give you time to make a decision with a clear head that wasn't rushed," Delia reached out and squeezed Vali's hands, "You'll make the correct decision even if it doesn't seem like it at first, Vali," The brown haired woman stood up, "Why don't you talk with your pokemon about it?"

Vali decided to take Delia's advice and took her pokemon to one of the Indigo Plateau's many secluded gardens. After releasing them, she had them settle around her and leaned back against Balto, "Guys, I need your help. I don't need to make a decision right away especially since part of this deals with me becoming Blaine's apprentice and that requires him actually offering that," She saw their confusion and took a deep breath, "Last night, Steven told me he was going back to Hoenn after the Conference was over though didn't specify an exact date meaning it could be a couple weeks afterwards," Everyone began letting out cries of protest and she clapped her hands over her ears until Balto let out a howl to silence them, "Thank you, Balto," He huffed lightly and licked her hand, "Anyway, He gave me an offer to come with him. Gave us an offer to come with him."

Elrond spoke from his place on her lap, "To stay with him. He doesn't want to part from you."

"I don't want to be so far away from him either," Vali told them, "But I don't want to give up Blaine's apprenticeship if he offers it," She looked at each of them, "We'll be able to get stronger with Blaine's help. We'll be able to reach new heights, find new techniques, and so much more if we stay in Kanto to learn under him," She closed her eyes feeling tears well up as pain formed in her heart, "But it means not being able to see Steven for so long unless its on the phone and with his penchant for caves, we'd probably only be in contact sometimes. Being able to talk with him and spend time together these past few days have been great, I miss traveling with him. I want to see Hoenn too and Steven would be an awesome guide," She felt a tear run down her cheek earning soft whines from Aragorn and Houndour, "Please guys, help me make a decision. I need you more than ever,"

Elrond's tail touched the skin of her arm more firmly. Fire that almost longed to twin with her own only it carried howled songs of loyalty and pack, Balto's deep baritone mental voice was comforting, "Steven is pack, but even pack must seperate for short periods of time, Vali-Sister. We must stay close to Kanto. The Lord of Flames will call at any time and we must stay close until then."

"Alpha is right," Smaug huffed in agreement, "Separation will do us some good. We will only get stronger if we're surrounded by the same strong opponents," She opened her eyes and found Smaug looking at her, "We want to become strong enough to protect those we care for. Our pack, our family, our clan, our friends? It will only be done if we find new opponents and get better training,"

Strong winds and the bright summer sun beating down on a feather back, Celina's mezzo-soprano voice trilled out, "I'd prefer it if we stayed together. You're heartache is too strong for the parting to be easy and you'll regret it if we let you say no. Another opportunity will come, Vali-sister. Alpha and Smaug might be right, but your heart is important too."

Soft earthy rumbles and cool dark tunnels, Idril's light alto murmured, "I want to stay together," Idril touched her hand lightly with a gentle claw, "Journey together again, Vali-Sister. We separated once before and if this would mean staying together for longer, I'd prefer it."

Fire that danced with an energy all its own that sang about running free without restraints and traveling across grassy plains, Arwen's contralto voice sounded, "We are herd-pack. To be together once more, I would prefer it to travel alongside them, but to be offered the chance at more strength before we're called upon is not an offer to be passed up on" Arwen stamped her hoof and gave Vali a look, "But it's necessary to think of such things when the offer isn't made. It's better to enjoy the day and what time we've got left before our future battles come! Leave the future for tomorrow!"

Deep earthen tunnels and cool gritty sand, Terra's soft alto called out, "I want to explore that new Region and be with our friends."

A storm right before it actually lets loose and forest in the middle of autumn. Pippin's mental voice sounded like a teenagers and kept cracking up though it was deepening a bit each time Elrond initiated the connection, "While traveling with everyone once again would be nice, it would be best to stay in Kanto. The Lord of Flames could call at any time just like Alpha said."

Fire that sang of rumbling earth and the feral fury of the flame, Pele's contralto sounded next, "To stay with our friends would be nice, I wouldn't mind seeing my homeland again even if I cannot remember it well from before I was sent to that place we met in," She let out a soft huff and slowly shifted to rest more comfortably on the ground, "But that would be waiting for us regardless won't it, right? Steven won't mind if we say no because in the end we'll always be friends."

Roaring dragons that refused to bow and steel scales that refused to break, Empress' mental voice was a mix between a light alto and mezzo-soprano, "Go or stay, we cannot linger too long. We will gain no strength and given what is coming our way, we cannot risk such a thing."

Fire that still had much to learn yet spoke of ages long past, Aragorn's soft boyish voice came from her right side, "It might be best to stay in Kanto. While we might miss Steven and the others, Alpha is right as is Smaug. The Lord of Flames will be calling upon us at some point," Aragorn twitched his right tail, "But Celina is right, your heart is important too. I don't want that to happen," His right tail twitched again, "Terra has a good point. It would allow us to explore a new region. I would actually have a chance to battle," His right tail twitched again, "Empress is right, we cannot linger too long."

Fire coated with darkness, Houndour's soft mental voice still carried some toddlerish tones, "Dour like Stevie and others. They nice and like play. Dour wanna keep them."

Fire intertwined with the spirits of the dead, Litwick's whispery mental voice called out, "They're nice enough and I like the idea of Hoenn. I also like the idea of this apprenticeship. I don't really mind what we end up doing, but we'd probably be better off staying close to Kanto where the Lord of Flame may easily call us to him."

Elrond spoke up last out of her pokemon, "Everyone has brought up good points, but nothing will be clear to us until after Blaine offers you an Apprenticeship. Even then, you will need to make the decision."

Vali nodded her head lightly and closed her eyes once more as Elrond removed his tail making sure no one would overwhelm her mind especially with the world she'd done with Sabrina yesterday. She spoke softly, "Thank you everyone, you've given me a lot to think about especially since this journey isn't just about me. It's about all of us."

Balto nuzzled into Vali from behind as Aragorn and Houndour did the same from beside her. She hugged Elrond tighter and he murmured softly through their connection, "Whatever you decide, Vali, we're with you just as you've been with us. We're pack."

"What exactly did you talk with Vali about last night?" Lance asked Steven as they walked through one of entertainment districts, "She seemed pretty distracted this morning and rushed out the door as soon as her pokemon had finished eating,"

Steven sighed deeply remembering that Vali hadn't even eaten much before leaving either only being concerned with ensuring her pokemon had been fed. He spoke with a slight frown, "I'm heading back to Hoenn."

"Seriously?" Lance looked at him in surprise, "What about your dig?"

"Father has someone taking over for me," Steven smiled lightly, "Thanks to the Conference, I've gained a lot of experience and confidence that I didn't have during my previous attempts. I think I'll actually be able to become a Champion this time around,"

Lance smiled slightly and nodded, "Good luck with that, Steven. I hope it works out."

"Thanks," Steven sighed deeply as he thought back to Lance's question, "As for your question, I asked Vali to join me,"

Lance looked a bit confused, "But shouldn't she be happy?"

"Blaine might be offering her a chance to become his apprentice," Steven answered feeling a bit bad, "And there is some other stuff especially given that Vali's only ever been in Kanto outside of her old home,"

"Shit," Lance's eyes widened, "No wonder she was distracted. I probably wouldn't be able to make a decision either," The red head grimaced, "Damn, I feel bad for her. She must feel very conflicted right now. I'm assuming the offer depends on how she does in the Conference which also deals with Blaine's personal opinion," Steven nodded and Lance sighed deeply, "You've just laid a very hard decision at her feet, Steven. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to do especially given that you'll probably be leaving within a week to two after the Conference ends,"

"Yeah," Steven felt bad for forcing this decision on Vali especially given her circumstances with the Lord of Flames.

"But you've also give her a good amount of time to make a decision," Lance shook his head, "Best to give her some space then, I bet she'll be asking her pokemon for some advice,"

"No doubt," Steven had known that when he'd asked her, "I hope that she'll agree to come along. It would be nice to show her Hoenn,"

"But what if she doesn't come with you?" Lance asked as they headed passed by one of the shops selling some form of pokemon treats that Steven knew Vali would probably want to check out at some point.

Steven knew that was very possible, "I won't protest despite being disappointed. I'll always be able to show her Hoenn at a later point in time even if it will likely not be as thoroughly as I'd like should that time be during when I'm Champion."

"I feel for you. For both of you," Lance shook his head, "I was planning to offer Vali a chance to travel with me through Johto as well,"

"You were?" Steven looked at him in shock.

Lance nodded with a grin, "Well, yeah. Seeing as I won't have to set up my challenges right away once I win the Conference, I'll be able to travel to my Johto and do everything back in my home Region. I'll get things set up, so that I can take down both the current champions one right after the other. Then it'll be a matter of setting things up so I can run the Regions my way."

Steven had known that Lance hadn't just thought this plan up over night, but that showed him how much thought the red head had put into all this, "Wow, Lance. You've really thought all of this out, haven't you?"

Lance nodded with a determined look on his face as he looked at everyone they passed, "Ever since I was a little kid and the teams were a big problem in the Regions, I wanted to make a change. I wanted to make it so no kid, no pokemon, no one would have to fear that something like Team Rocket was going to come after their partner," A bitter and hardened look came across the redheads face, "Not after my cousin's parents were killed in cold blood under Madam Rocket's orders before Silver or Gold could get to Blackthorn back when our little village was still just a dragon sanctuary that wasn't important enough to the police to warrant much interest,"

Steven suddenly felt a lot more connected to the red head than before, "Lance, I understand more than you probably know. My," He swallowed heavily, "My mom died in a Team attack back when I was a little kid on my family home. We don't know which one did it."

Lance gave him an understanding look and let out a low laugh, "That is what I want to change, Steven. The needless deaths that leave kids without fathers, mothers, uncles, and aunts not to mention the countless other family members that exist. Not to mention the pokemon, the ones who get used and left to rot when their use is up. The ones like Vali's Eevee or even Elrond. I want to change their stories," Lance clenched his fist, "If I can do that for these two Regions, I'll count it as a win. It's why I want Vali as one of my Elite, you know."

And Steven understood what Lance was trying to say very well, he smiled lightly, "Because Vali loves pokemon and will do anything to help them. She's helped both Eevee and Elrond already."

"There is that," Lance chuckled as they crossed a over a small bridge, "But it's more then that. I'm surprised you didn't say it, but then again, you've probably been somewhat blinded. Joseph's worded it pretty well, so I'll be stealing some words. Vali's a light. A bright fiery light that warms those that she cares for and beckons them close vowing to protect them. She'll protect them with everything she's got," He grinned pausing to lean against the railing, "The way she's raised Empress shows it. That Bagon was a stubborn little shit, I know many people probably would've traded her the moment she tried to hurt them. I bet she headbutted Vali a few times. Didn't she?"

Steven remembered Vali coming back to the Lab with Empress and Dragonite holding her ribs back during Christmas. He'd been more than a little angry with the dragon-type when he was told what exactly had happened, but Vali had reminded him that Empress' training was her responsibility not to mention how common injuries could be. Pushing down the flash of old anger that welled up in his chest, he nodded while looking away from Lance, "Yeah and managed to do a bit of actual damage once. Vali didn't do more than scold her and it confused a few of her pokemon."

"I'm not surprised," Lance shook his head as he stopped by the railing and leaned against it, "Vali probably stopped Dragonite from beating the shit out of Empress too," Steven looked at Lance in surprise, "I figured if she was training Empress at the Ranch, Dragonite would be there since Vali's one of the old girl's favorite people. Dragon-type's tend to keep an eye on those they care for when they're in the same area and I wouldn't be surprised if Dragonite followed you guys during your trip to Viridian City just to make sure Vali made it there alright,"

Steven would definitely be checking with Metagross to see if they remembered any pokemon following them to the city, "I see."

"That right there is why Vali's going to run into trouble when shit hits the fan," Lance looked out at the water losing his smile, "Just from hearing the stories I have about your journey, the luck she has is only going to make it worse. With the warmth she carries and a willingness to put herself into danger to protect those she cares for, the dangerous people of the world will make her their target and she'll get hurt. We need to make sure she's protected," The redhead's jaw set, "I'm not saying she's weak and her pokemon aren't. They'll have her back and do their best to protect her no matter what,"

"But they can't always do that," Steven's fist clenched a bit, "There are times they can't be with her and places they're not able to go, I get it," He looked at the red head wondering where this was coming from, "But why bring this up?"

Lance's amber eyes were filled with dark emotions as he turned towards Steven and began to speak in a lower tone than before, "When I went home, my mother was meeting with Gold who visits us from time to time to check on the pokemon. Normally this wouldn't be alarming, Silver was there too as was Crystal. The only time more than one of the Original dex holders are ever gathered together within my home is to ensure we're prepared just in case a new Team decides to appear," Steven's breath caught in his throat, "If this is happening in Johto, it'll be happening in Kanto meaning the other Regions will be following. We need to prepare our Regions for the Teams that are coming Steven whether they turn out to be like the most recent ones or like Rocket/Aqua/Magma."

"I understand," Steven was thankful someone had the guts to actually say something, "Thanks for saying something,"

"No problem," Lance nodded to him, "I was trying to find a good way to bring it up. Just wish it hadn't been because of Vali," The red head chuckled softly, "Funny how she managed to help me bring it up,"

"She has a weird way of helping stuff happen even without being present," Steven smiled slightly as he thought of his improving relationship with his father, "She's one of the most amazing friends I've ever had. I will never regret taking the chance on having her as my traveling partner,"

"I'm kind of annoyed you managed to snap her up first," Lance told him and grinned at the confusion painting Steven's face, "You weren't the only one that got asked if they'd travel with her for a little while. You ended up arriving at the lab a week ahead of me though,"

Steven realized how lucky he'd been to have Vali as his traveling partner, "Well I'm somewhat glad you were tardy though it makes me wonder if we might've ended up traveling together if you'd have arrived at the same time as me."

Lance blinked a bit and considered his words before shrugging, "Maybe, I hadn't considered that or really having a traveling partner before. It would've been interestin-"

"Hey!" They both turned at the shout and found Zaria running towards them with Vali following at a more sedate pace, "Lance, Steven, there you two are,"

"Were you looking for us?" Steven asked as Zaria skidded to a stop on the bridge.

"She wanted to wander with you guys and explore the area a bit more thoroughly," Vali explained as Zaria worked to catch her breath, "She found me while I was wandering around after I spent some time with my pokemon and Delia,"

Zaria stood up straight and pointed at them, "We need to have some fun together! We're probably going to be battling against one another meaning we need to do something non-competitive and fun!"

"Battling is fun," Lance pointed out.

Zaria made a face at the red-head, "Fun in a way that lets our pokemon rest like we're supposed to, Dummy."

"So I was thinking," Vali cut in before an argument could start up, "We could find some places to eat and window shop. Maybe find a theater or something, I've only really seen pokemon food shops so far, but I'm sure there might be something else here,"

"Sounds like a plan," Lance nodded his head lightly.

Zaria clapped her hands with a squeal and took off, "Let's go!"

Vali let out a low sigh, "How she has so much energy when she's up most of the night, I have no idea."

Steven looked over Vali carefully as they began to follow Zaria and noted that she definitely looked better than this morning. The talk with Delia and her pokemon had helped quite a bit. While she would likely wait until Blaine had made his offer, she'd probably gotten her thoughts settled into some form of order. A tightness he hadn't noticed in his chest eased up making it a bit easier to breath. Lance spoke as they all drifted after Zaria, "So Vali, you're probably going to be guiding Ash on his journey, right?"

"Yes though it'll be all his own. I'll be acting much like Steven did for me," Vali smiled lightly, "Why do you ask?"

"Seeing as it might be the first time you'll be going through Johto, I might try to tag along during some points if that's okay. If I'm not too busy with my Champion duties of course," Lance grinned at her, "Help to guide you guys through, I'd offer it now, but I figure you've got enough on your plate and will probably want to stay close to Kanto. Mew knows I stayed close to Johto during my first few years after becoming a trainer,"

"You did?" Vali looked at Lance in surprise while Steven grimaced a bit.

Lance nodded as they stepped around a small group of people, "I actually stuck by Blackthorn for a year once I completed my journey and competed in my first Conference to make sure my dragon-types were getting the best care they possibly could while we grew stronger underneath the teaching of my clans masters. It wasn't until we were sure we'd learned everything they could teach us that we set off on our own once again and this time for Kanto," He smiled lightly at her, "Had things worked out differently, I might've been your traveling partner rather than Steven or we both would've traveled with you as the two of us had been discussing before you'd arrived."

Vali's eyes went a bit wide, "Really?"

Lance nodded and shifted to rest his arms behind his head, "Kind of sucks because traveling with you would've been an awesome experience, I've always wanted to know what it would be like to travel with someone else beside my pokemon," He turned his head to grin at her, "So promise me to say when Ash's journey makes it into Johto, I want to help out the kid and experience what its like. Hell, I wanna know when you're in Johto even if it's for a short visit. We can meet up and I'll show you around, alright?"

Vali nodded with a grin, "Sounds like a plan, I'm looking forward to it though are you sure? It sounds like it'd be a lot of work especially if you'd be a champion."

Lance shrugged lightly, "Nah, you're one of my friends and Ash has grown on me. Gary is included in this as well. I'm sure Steven agrees with me on this."

"I do," Vali turned to him and Steven nodded with a warm smile, "It won't be a bother. I've known both of them for awhile after all,"

"Thank you both then," Vali looked relieved, "It's nice to know I won't be alone if I need some help,"

Vali surprised them both with a one-armed hug since they were on either side of her. Steven recovered quickly and carefully returned the hug even if it was somewhat awkward with Lance. Lance did the same on Vali's other side. She let them go soon enough when Zaria called out to her and hurried to catch up to the dark-type master-in-training. Lance spoke as they moved a bit more apart, "That was unexpected, I've never been hugged by Vali before."

"She doesn't hug people that often," Steven relayed as they moved to catch up with the girls, "But it is nice when she does. The first time she ever hugged me was after her first gym battle. She'd only had Balto, Smaug, Elrond, and Celina back then. All of them were in their first forms back then,"

"She won that one with Balto and Smaug too, right?" Lance asked narrowing his eyes and Steven nodded, "I'll have to see if they've got that battle recording public or not,"

"Probably not since it was the first gym battle," Steven shook his head.

Lance sighed, "Another more personal reason to become Champion then."

Steven looked at Vali and smiled softly as he thought of just how much she'd grown as a trainer alongside her pokemon since those first days. Looking at her battles both ending in wins and losses, he felt pride in helping her reach this point though almost all of it was done by herself. Each of her pokemon from back then to now, they'd grown quite a bit though both Aragorn and Houndour would have quite a bit of growing to do before they'd be ready to join their siblings on the battlefield. But if anyone could help them reach that point, it would be their mother/sister-figure, Vali.

Vali looked at the fishing pole in her hand for a few moments before shaking her head and casting the line like everyone else. When there was a tug on the line, she pulled and grimaced as water suddenly splashed outward as the Magikarp attached to her hook began flailing. The Nurse Joy in charge gave her an apologetic look and a towel, "Sorry about that, I honestly don't know why the need to use Magikarp."

Because most people think Magikarp are useless until they evolve into Gyarados, Vali avoided saying it as she took the towel, "Thank you."

"Twenty," The attendant read out as they got the Magikarp to stop squirming before putting it into a tank off to the side.

Vali nodded and took the plastic card offered to her. A gleaming red 20 printed on the white plastic and she wondered who her opponent would be. Heading over to where she'd agreed to meet up with the others, she could see Steven already standing there and wondered if he was holding the matching twenty in his hand causing the light weight plastic to feel like lead in her hand for a few moments before she steeled herself. If one of her friends held the other card, she'd face them with all the fire and bravery she was able to muster. After all, they'd come this far and her pokemon were ready to face any challenge no matter how difficult it would be. Steven looked up at her from where he'd been scanning his pokenav's screen, "I've got 40."

"20," Vali felt relief run through her, "Looks like our match will have to wait a bit longer,"

"Seems like it," Steven grinned lightly as she moved to settle against the wall beside him and he spotted Litwick peering out of her shadow, "Litwick's in your shadow today?"

Vali nodded as Litwick bounced a bit in greeting, "She wanted to see all the people and absorb some of the excess energy everyone was giving off. During times like this, she can do it safely."

"That's good," Steven reached out and carefully rubbed the top of Litwick's head, "I'm happy she get's to enjoy herself then,"

"I hope Lance and Zaria get done soon though," Vali said as she looked around them, "It's a bit too loud and crowded for my taste,"

Steven chuckled softly, "Just a bit, it's always a surprise even if there are only 64 people left."

Vali nodded while giving each of those around them a careful look. Not many around her physical age were left, she bet only herself and maybe one other were among the group of contestants vying for the chance to challenge the Elite Four as well as the Champion should they manage the former. Hell, a majority like herself were attempting to prove themselves worthy of becoming apprentices or Ace material. She felt a sense of amazement at the fact that she'd made it to the top 64 in her first year as a trainer. Grinning slightly, she said, "I can't believe that I've managed to make it this far in my first year as a trainer. The top 64."

"You've done very well," Steven's lips pulled into a warm smile, "I hope that I'll actually be able to catch one of your matches this time around,"

"Same," Vali murmured in agreement, "Things are going to get a lot tougher,"

"No doubt," Steven nodded as he began scanning the crowd much like she had, "I wonder who we'll be facing in the next round,"

Vali nodded as she felt Litwick move within her shadow. It was an odd half way physical and mental sense that appeared whenever Litwick appeared in her shadow. She could actually 'talk' with Litwick though it was more through impressions and colors than anything else unlike the words she shared with Elrond. She would need to speak with Agatha at some point to find out if she'd be able to actually talk with Litwick just like Elrond, but that would be for later. Still it was weird feeling Litwick move within her shadow, it was somewhat itchy and uncomfortable though she was becoming used to it.

"Hey," Zaria called out as she walked up, "Got your numbers?"

"40," Steven said holding up his card.

"20," Vali held up her own.

Zaria's eyes widened, "2-20?" She held up her own card and revealed a gleaming red 20, "Looks like we're facing one another in the next round."

"Y-yeah," Vali stared at the plastic card in shock, "Huh,"

"Hey, guys," Lance walked up with a grin, "I'm number 10-" He paused for a moment with a frown, "What's going on?"

"Vali and Zaria are going up against each other in the next round," Steven told him as Vali gripped the plastic card in her hand just a bit harder than before and Litwick shifted at her shift in emotions, "Given that we're heading into the final stretch of battles and we've all made it this far, I'm not that surprised,"

"Kind of brutal though," Lance commented with a shake of his head.

"Not really," Zaria grinned suddenly clenching the plastic card in her hand with a determined look on her face, "We decided to become rivals back in Vermilion, but we haven't really had much of a chance to face each other on a competitive stand point. Officially speaking,"

"Right," Vali shook off her nerves as she realized what Zaria was talking about, "It should be interesting to battle against one another,"

Vali's pokemon took the fact that they were to battle against Zaria rather well all things considered. They'd understood that as the Conference progressed there was going to be an increased chance they'd face their friends. So despite feeling some initial reluctance, they were ready to face their friends in battle and give them one to remember no matter the outcome. To ensure that, they threw themselves into their training. On Vali's side of things, she focused on creating strategies to beat Zaria knowing that it wouldn't be an easy fight despite the other trainers struggles within the Conference so far.

Any time not spent training or going over strategies was strictly for relaxing, Vali would not let her pokemon train at all during this time even if they weren't participating in the Conference. She didn't want to risk anyone burning out or getting sick because they were training too hard especially since Aragorn was now able to begin the harsher battle training and actually participate in battles as per Professor Oak's check up. Houndour was still a few days from being allowed to do light training and would be stuck with baby toys. Aragorn was all too eager to train himself into the ground though meaning her attention had to be focused on him much of the time.

Balto took him to the side at the end of their final training day and gave him a talking to as was his duty as Alpha. When they came back, Aragorn actually looked scolded and came to sit by Vali's feet. Elrond spoke from across the clearing where he was keeping most of their activities from damaging their surroundings, "Aragorn wishes to apologize for worrying you, Vali. He was just so excited to finally get to actually train it didn't occur to him that his actions would worry you so much."

Vali bent down with a warm smile and rubbed between Aragorn's ears causing those amber grey eyes to spark a bit, "Just try not to train so hard at this age, alright? You're very young and while a pokemon's body can stand up to a lot, you are still far too young for such a thing. I don't want you to exhaust your inner flame, Little one."

Aragorn barked and Elrond translated, "I understand, Vali-Sis-Mama."

"Good," Vali stood up, "Now take a break okay, you've trained enough for now. I'll get you a snack and something to drink," She headed over to her bag, "When you're finished, I want you to take a little nap okay, Little King. When you wake up, we'll continue on, okay?"

Aragorn let out a soft bark and followed her towards where she left her bag. Once Aragorn was taken care of, Vali walked over to where Balto had settled down to rest for a few moments and wrapped her arms around his neck earning a low rumble, "Thanks, Balto. I wouldn't know what I'd do without you," Balto nuzzled her softly and sighed deeply against her shirt, "Tomorrow is the battle against Zaria, she might've had a had time so far in the tournament, but it doesn't mean we'll have it easy. She's probably training like crazy just like us too," She hugged him just a bit tighter, "But we're not going to let her win tomorrow, we are going to win. I want to face Steven or Lance at some point in the Conference and won't let Zaria beat us. But that's not just why I want to beat her," She released Balto to look at him and grinned brightly feeling a fire burn in her chest, "I want to show all those people watching what exactly we can do. We're awesome, Balto. I want to make it further than the top 64. Maybe the top 16 at least, I want to be one of the few first year trainers to reach that kind of spot. I want to show Blaine just want kind of skills we have. We've done well in doing that so far," She sat down and pulled out her pokedex, "I've made a few modifications to that one strategy like I said I would..."

Vali walked out onto the battlefield and found a rock area staring her in the face meaning Pele would have an advantage if she was used. Aragorn walked beside Vali once again looking at the battlefield in awe and slight envy. She found Zaria walking out across from her with Sableye on her shoulders though the ghost/dark moved to her side once they reached the trainer box. The announcer spoke up, "Welcome to the final matches of the Prelims where we finally get to the real deal, six-on-six, battle royals! Our first battle of the day is by two rather wonderful ladies. In the green corner, we have Zaria Warner of Cocona Village in Oblivia!"

A cheer rose from the crowd as Zaria waved, "Hey everyone! I hope to give you a wonderful battle."

"And in the red corner, we have Valkyrie Potter of Pallet Town here in Kanto!" The announcer shouted earning a louder cheer from the crowd, "She is quickly becoming a crowd favorite here,"

Vali flushed lightly and waved to the crowd, "Hello everyone! I too am hoping to give you all a wonderful battle," She looked towards Zaria and grinned at her friend, "Let the fires within our hearts and that of our pokemon's become visible to all here today, my friendly rival!"

"I here that!" Zaria shouted with a matching grin and took out a pokeball as Vali mimicked her.

The announcer let out a gasp, "What's this I'm hearing? Are Valkyrie Potter-Black and Zaria Warner rivals?"

"Friendly rivals," Zaria said as the Referee stepped up.

"This will be a six-on-six match!" The Referee began as the pokeball in Vali's warmed, "The rules are much the same as any other match within the tournament only we will be taking a short intermission once one side loses three pokemon to switch around the terrain at random between the three remaining field-types. If both trainers are ready, you may begin!"

Both of them released at once, Zaria shouting, "Darken the skies with your wings, Murkrow!"

"Battle with me, my friend!" Vali released Elrond who appeared opposite of Murkrow.

The two immediately began to attack one another with Elrond simultaneously setting up Electrical Terrain. Murkrow revealed that Zaria had ensured that she'd taught him every dark-type move naturally available to it and made sure he'd been able to master it as much as possible in his first form state. True mastery would only come in his secondary state, the level of skill Murkrow showed was still definitely above what any of his species being trained by a non-single-type mastery trainer could hope to gain though. Elrond dodged each attack as best as he could and ripped up pieces of the field to guard against that which couldn't be dodged. He spoke through their bond sounding excited, "Murkrow is definitely powerful. I can beat him soon enough, but this is definitely a lot of fun."

"I'm glad to hear it, Elrond," Vali smiled warmly at her partners excitement, "The energy isn't causing you any pain, is it?"

"Houndour's presence alongside Litwick's has actually helped me become somewhat used to it," Elrond managed to hit Murkrow with a high powered Thunder Bolt earning a loud squawk of pain and causing the dark/fly-type to lose altitude due to the electricity paralyzing its nerves for a few moments, "While uncomfortable, it doesn't cause me pain unless I'm actually hit by it. I won't allow something as simple as discomfort to let me lose a match like this especially when I have an advantage,"

"I would never accuse you of such a thing," Vali shook her head lightly earning a low chuckle.

"I know you would not," Elrond got in close to Murkrow as the bird began to shake off the electricity that had been introduced into its nervous system, "Lets move this onto the next match shall we?"

Elrond used uppercut-ted Murkrow with Thunder Punch sending the avian upward and followed after him to finish it off with an Iron Tail towards the ground. Zaria returned her pokemon before he could hit the ground as Murkrow wouldn't be able recover in time to prevent a bad landing. She gave Vali a look of acknowledgement while switching pokeballs, "Elrond is definitely going to be a tough pokemon to beat despite being a psychic. You've done great work with him though having the those two new pokemon of yours have definitely helped to build up his resistance to dark-types haven't they?"

"As much as they could, it doesn't replace variety and experience though," Vali replied as Elrond settled in front of her as Zaria primed the pokeball, "You've trained Murkrow well. Had he been in his evolved form, we would've likely fallen, but then again, it couldn't be guaranteed especially as he'd likely only been newly evolved meaning not quite in control of his power giving us the upper hand,"

"True enough," Zaria shrugged lightly, "Whatever would've happened, we won't know until our next battle and Murkrow has evolved. For now, we must focus on the here and now," She released her next pokemon, "Cut loose and shred them, Nuzz!"

Nuzz the Nuzleaf appeared on the field and gave Elrond a quick nod as Vali mentally groaned at Zaria's choice. Of course, Zaria would choose Nuzz who Elrond would have to work double time on damaging. Then again, Zaria would have a hard time hurting Elrond unless she managed to find some of the prized dark-type TMs that could get pretty costly especially when one was trying to get permanent versions which was the one the other girl likely looked into getting. She took a deep breath as the Referee announced for them to start and Elrond added onto Electric Terrain which would hopefully ensure their attacks would do more damage against the Nuzleaf. Elrond started off the offensive attacks by using Electro-Ball. Nuz dodged the attack and retaliated with Razor Leaf releasing it in a cloud-like formation that was actually quite common among higher levels of competition. Elrond dispelled it using Psychic, but had to back-peddle quickly to avoid Nuz who's fist was alight with dark-type energy. Rather than peruse the attack, Nuz released another cloud of Razor Leaf that Elrond quickly dispelled.

This pattern continued for a short while, Vali frowned slightly and spoke to Elrond through their connection, "They fight like we do. Not exactly, but..."

"Similar enough that it is somewhat disconcerting," Elrond sounded slightly annoyed, "I understand why our opponents get so annoyed with us now,"

"Agreed," Vali eyed the battlefield and came up with a plan, "Elrond, let's give them a taste of their own medicine. Use the discarded leaves as a smokescreen to hide, you remember what happened back during those first couple days in Pallet after Viridian, right?"

Elrond's left ear twitched a bit and a mental chuckle sounded, "While I do not appreciate the thought of getting wet, I suppose I shouldn't complain too much especially if it means overcoming our disadvantages."

With that, Elrond began to set things up by gathering the discarded leaves created by Nuz's Razor Leaf attack. Nuz stared at the leaves swirling around him as the announcer shouted, "What's this? Elrond and Valkyrie turning Zaria's attack back on their opponent?"

Elrond sent the leaves rushing towards Nuz and created a large amount of clones to shield himself with while working on the next phase of their plan. Nuz cleared away the Razor Leaf cloud with what looked to be Air Cutter revealing the Double Team clones. Nuz began using a mixture of Bullet Seed and Air Cutter to get rid of the clones. Elrond was revealed to be floating above the battlefield with an Electro Ball held at the tip of his Iron Tail coated tail. He had his eyes closed and his cheek pouches were glowing brightly as electricity built up within the air. Vali looked away from him towards Zaria when the other girl asked, "What on earth is he doing?"

Vali let out a light laugh, "Something we just came up with on the fly," Zaria stared at her with a wide eyed look, "Might as well give it a shot and even if it ends up failing, we'll just figure out how to use it in a diffrent way," She felt the electricity in the air reach that same level it had back during that sudden storm, "Elrond, go for it!"

"Got it!" Elrond shouted as he released the Electro Ball and a good bit of the electricity he'd built up into the sky.

The ball of electricity shot upwards and disappeared into the sky as Elrond floated towards the ground panting a bit heavily looking slightly exhausted. Nuz eyed the sky in distrust for a few moments, but when nothing happened, he resumed the battle. Elrond dodged the initial strike, but was grazed by the follow up Sucker Punch causing pain to flow through their connection. She winced slightly, but focused on sending strength to Elrond while glancing towards the sky. A small smile formed on her lips at the sight of clouds forming unnoticed due to the fact the sun had yet to be covered. Sending a mental image towards Elrond, she spoke in an encouraging tone, "Keep it up, Elrond. The plan is coming together."

"Good," Elrond grimaced as Nuz scored yet another blow, "I hope it starts soon. This one is becoming difficult,"

It would seem that the dark-type energy was beginning to wear on Elrond. Elrond landed a Thunder Punch and Nuz retaliated with a Sucker Punch only to pause when rain began to spatter. Zaria muttered softly, "Rain?"

"Huh?" The announcer spoke up, "It seems that we're being struck by a sudden rain storm folks,"

"Elrond, you know what to do," Vali grinned as the rain began the dripping rain slowly harshened into a down pour, "Let's shock them into unconsciousness!"

"This was your plan!" Zaria realized with a shout earning a bright laugh as Elrond began using the water to boost his electrical attacks, "You called this storm, didn't you?"

Vali merely smiled at her friend as Nuz did his best to deal with Elrond's attacks. Nuz's inbuilt resistance was good, but getting soaked to the bone with water gave Elrond's electricity an easier path into his nervous system. Despite getting a rather harsh dose of electricity, Nuz dealt quite a bit of damage to Elrond. Enough so that when the sudden storm finally eased, the two were barely standing with Elrond unable to continue floating and their connection just barely holding on. She gripped his pokeball tightly feeling pain coiling through her mind and knew she'd need to meditate deeply in order to deal with it. Elrond and Nuz stared at one another before their eyes slowly closed as one with their bodies collapsing onto the ground. The referee raised his flag and called out, "Dual knock out! Both trainers please return your pokemon and release your next pick!"

The crowd screamed and cried as they returned their pokemon. Vali whispered praises and thanks to Elrond before placing his pokeball in its spot. She took out Pele's pokeball after glancing at the field and released her, "Come out and battle with me, My Friend!"

"Let the moon shine upon us all even when the sun shines down upon us, Moon!" Zaria released the pokemon within her own pokeball at the same time reveal an Umbreon.

Vali spoke with a light grin, "Moon truly is a beautiful pokemon, Zaria. He's lucky to have you. Pele, Heat Wave!"

"Thanks, Vali," Zaria grinned at her, "It took awhile to get him to this level, but I'm proud of him," Pele burned away the water surrounding her and Moon dodged backwards, "Huh, she's going to be a difficult opponent for us, but we'll get through this. Moon , Swift!"

"Magnitude," Vali countered and Pele stamped her hoof on the ground causing it to shake disrupting Moon's attack as the lithe fox spluttered in stumbled, "You'll have to do more than that, Zaria. Pele's a master of her move-pool, my friend," She smiled lightly, "Pele, bring him close and heat things up with Hot Pot!"

Pele let out a warm coo and began using Earth Power to toss Moon the Umbreon close enough for them to use Hot Pot. Zaria shouted, "Oh no you don't! Moon, Swift and Rain Dance!"

The Swift Moon released was more of a condensed beam then the varied stream of stars Vali was used to which meant they'd have to do a lot more playing around with that move in the future. She quickly called out, "Sunny Day, Pele!" The Rain Dance was cancelled out before it could even begin, "Trying to exploit a hole in my defenses you'll know I'll have covered by know, my friend?"

"Thought I'd try it," Zaria shrugged lightly, "Besides it gave us some breathing room, you're far too good at keeping up a continuous stream of attacks," Moon launched a Shadow Ball at Pele who blocked it with a wall of earth and began setting up things for Hot Pot, "It's kind of annoying especially when you've got pokemon with the stamina able to keep it up,"

"A big part of our training goes into that," Vali replied with a small shrug as Moon tried to disrupt Pele's set up or weaken it, "You're a frustrating opponent as well, Zaria. It's been odd to face someone who fights so much like myself. Hit and run tactics only following a semi-diffrent path," She grinned brightly while bending down to run her fingers across Aragorn's head, "But it's also awesome, I feel so excited and determined to win. It makes me adjust my strategies and work even harder for the victory. I cannot wait to see how the rest of our battle progresses,"

"Agreed though it seems we're at a stalemate at the moment," Zaria said with a grimace at the completed Hot-Pot and Moon's pacing form, "We know better than to try and go inside that thing. Pele isn't going to exit it without a fight,"

"So it seems," Vali murmured in agreement with a light smile, "But I can end the stalemate easily,"

"How?" Zaria gave her a searching look filled with suspicion.

"Numel and Camerupt are not much for tunneling. They allow the lava to do it for them and simply manipulate the flow of things to suit their needs," Vali replied having decided to keep up the semi-cryptic words and statements that she'd been saying since her first match of the tournament, "To end this stalemate, Pele need only manipulate the flow,"

Zaria's eyes narrowed as the announcer commented, "Well that was certainly cryptic."

"Pele, I think Moon is getting a bit cold out here," Vali said in a light tone.

"Moon, jump!" Zaria shouted as she realized what Vali meant.

Moon began to follow his trainers orders just a hole opened up beneath him. Before Zaria could breath a sigh of relief, a second hole opened up and a piece of earth shot outward slamming into Moon. Moon hit the ground and fell into another hole. Vali spoke as the crowd started to murmur, "Pele will make it quick."

"Moon might surprise you," Zaria replied while staring at the Hot-Pot with frown, "But regardless, he likely won't be able to continue battling meaning the field's will be switching. Any ideas which we'll have to deal with?"

"Nope," Vali shook her head, "It'll be fun to see what we'll be dealing with though,"

Zaria snorted softly, "Yeah."

They both focused on the battle again as a brilliant white light pierced through Hot-Pot. When it faded, the dome-like structure was beginning to crumble showing that Pele was no longer maintaining it at all. The dome crumbled completely revealing both pokemon with Moon completely unconscious and Pele standing with what looked like a circular wound on her chest. The almost star-burst-like burn mark was the tell-tale sign of a Hyper Beam. Vali's jaw dropped a bit both because of the fact Pele was still standing after taking a Hyper Beam to the chest and that Zaria had taught one of her pokemon that move. More specifically the former, Pele was still conscious after taking a Hyper Beam to the chest where most pokemon would be unconscious.

"Mother of Mew, you taught Moon Hyper Beam?" Vali asked as Zaria returned the unconscious Umbreon.

"Trump card," Zaria sighed deeply, "I was hoping it would've knocked out Pele, but she's a tougher pokemon then I expected,"

The announcer spoke up, "We'll be taking a ten minute intermission to do a field change. Miss Potter-Black, you may heal your pokemon and give your injured pokemon to the waiting Nurse Joy. Miss Warner, you may give your injured pokemon to the waiting Nurse Joy. If either of you wish to make a substitution, please do so within this time frame."

Vali returned Pele and headed into the small trainer's lounge. A Nurse Joy was waiting for her and smiled warmly, "Miss Potter-Black, I can take your pokemon."

"I'd appreciate it," Vali handed over Elrond and Pele's pokeball, "I know there isn't much that can be done for Pele in such a short span of time. I mostly wish to know how much strain she'll be able to deal with and if it'd be better to forfeit her," Nurse Joy looked a little surprised and she smiled lightly at the pink haired woman, "My pack's health is more important than a victory especially when the rest of them are more than strong enough to fight for us. She's done enough. They both did,"

"It's a pleasure to see at least one trainer this year has some form of sense," Nurse Joy took the pokeballs with a gentle smile, "I will be back within nine minutes. I wish you the best of luck,"

"Thank you, Nurse Joy. I know my pokemon are in the best possible hands," Vali replied and moved to take a seat.

Vali re-entered the trainers box and nodded to Zaria while noting the grass field feeling thankful that they'd gotten lucky once more. She released Pele onto the field with Zaria releasing a Sneasel. To Zaria and the crowd's surprise, the fire-type master-in-training immediately said, "I forfeit Pele."

Vali returned Pale immediately and pulled out a diffrent pokeball as Zaria asked, "But why?"

"That Hyper Beam of Moon did internal damage, I won't risk Pele's life over a battle especially against a dear friend," Vali smiled lightly, "Come out and battle with me, my friend," Arwen appeared on the field earning a surprised look from Zaria who'd likely believed that the Ponyta wouldn't be making an appearance, "Arwen, let's give our friends a taste of our training. Flame Charge!"

Arwen took off with a whiny as fire flared to life around her and Sneasel had to move quickly in order to dodge the attack heading towards it. Arwen paired Flame Charge with Stomp and Ember. Sneasel did its best to dodge and attack back with Icy Wind. Sneasel stumbled and Arwen slammed into it sending the sharp claw pokemon flying with a sharp cry of pain as her Flame Charge began to burn it. Sneasel quickly got back up and retaliated with Ice Shard that Arwen darted out of the way of. Arwen stomped her hoof and pawed at the ground with a neigh earning a snarl from Sneasel. Zaria shouted, "Sneasel, Underground! This one isn't something we can beat normally, we're going to have to play things out a diffrent way."

Sneasel growled before quickly digging into the ground and disappearing just as Arwen raced towards it with another Flame Charge. Vali frowned softly as she considered the options they could take, "Arwen, Sunny Day."

Arwen began pacing around the field as she obeyed the order and Vali tried to work out a plan. The match up wasn't a good one especially since Arwen wouldn't be able to dig after Sneasel unlike Balto. Perhaps she'd been too hasty in her decision, she internally sighed at the the thought before banishing it and focusing on the battlefield a bit more closely. Sneasel was likely lying in wait and trying to pin-point the best possible way to get the jump on Arwen. She glanced down at Aragorn who was looking at the battlefield intently and inwardly smiled at the sight. It showed he was doing his best to learn which was a good thing and meant they'd be starting off well when it got to his time to finally battle someone. She looked back up and spotted Arwen slowing down slightly as Zaria shouted, "Now, Sneasel!"

"Arwen, Flame Wheel!" Vali shouted as Sneasel burst out of the ground by Arwen.

Sneasel landed on Arwen's back with silvery claws clearly intent on causing pain and dug them in. Vali's warning didn't come in time to stop that, but Arwen managed to hear her through the pain. Fire exploded outward burning Sneasel, it didn't cause the small pokemon to let go immediately. Arwen began to race around as Sneasel screamed in pain and Vali grimaced hoping the little pokemon let go soon. When Sneasel finally let go, it fell to the ground and the two trainers let out horrified gasps at the sight of Sneasel's burned fur. Well, what was left of it. Zaria returned Sneasel, "I'm so sorry, Sneasel."

"Please tell me how Sneasel is and if it needs anything," Vali said with a horrified look on her face, "I'm so sorry,"

Zaria nodded with a grimace, "I will," She took out a diffrent pokeball, "I'll definitely have to think of something to prevent that from happening again," She closed her eyes briefly likely working to center herself before opening them, "But now is not the time to dwell on it, we have to battle. While not a dark-type like the rest of my team, she's still dear to me and will hopefully give us the edge we need against you! Let the ground break apart and the dead's baleful eyes stare forth at our enemies, Grim!"

A Marowak appeared on the field wielding a longer than usual bone club. The Marowak let out a cheerful cry and began to dance lightly around earning a few chuckles from the crowd. Vali's heart felt a bit lighter at the sight of Grim who's cheerful and playful nature rarely seemed to stray. Zaria could have chosen a diffrent pokemon to use before resorting to her starter, but likely wanted the light hearted option that had the added bonus of giving her a type advantage. Smiling lightly, she spoke as Arwen neighed a greeting to Grim, "Grim hasn't lost her cheerful edge. Are those feathers I see?"

"She wanted them from Murkrow," Zaria shrugged lightly, "So long as they don't fight about it, I'm not going to comment. Grim, we need to finish this fast. Arwen's already hurt thanks to Sneasel, so make it quick for her. Bonemerage,"

Grim let out a shout and threw her club at Arwen who took off at a run that was a lot slower than before showing that the injuries Sneasel had given her were definitely taking their toll. Arwen attacked back with Ember and Flame Charge that Grim quickly dodged. Grim showed how accurate she was by managing to hit Arwen's speedy flame covered form as it raced across the field with another Bonemerage. Arwen's flames sputtered and died as the Ponyta skidded to a halt after the attack. Arwen wasn't unconscious, but she was definitely dazed. Vali took out the Ponyta's pokeball knowing that this was the end of the battle and returned her pokemon deciding it was better to avoid stressing the possible concussion. While pokemon were tougher than humans, a concussion was no laughing matter regardless of species and Arwen had done enough as it was.

"Come out and battle with me, my friend," Smaug appeared on the field with a roar and Zaria grimaced a bit at the sight, "Smaug, we're done to the last two pokemon on Zaria's team and the final three for us. I'm counting on you to ensure our pack doesn't need to extend anymore hands into the fight," Smaug's eyes narrowed as he nodded, "You know what to do,"

Smaug began to the battle with Smokescreen earning a chuckle from Zaria, "Based on that one battle I saw in the replays, I can't say what you're going to have him do with that."

"That's the fun of it, isn't it?" Vali replied with a grin.

"It's a good strategy though useless if there is a flying or psychic-type capable of getting rid of the smoke," Zaria replied earning a shrug.

"I'm aware, but it's perfect for situations like this," Vali watched Smaug pull out of the clouds avoiding the Bonemerage that had been heading toward him and lit it on fire causing an explosion, "Strategies are made to be adjusted after all,"

Grim was a bit burnt, but no worse for wear thanks to her species' natural high defense. Grim's eyes narrowed at Smaug and she used Bonemerage again. Thanks to his wings and excellent vision, he was easily able to dodge the attack. Smaug decided to play it smart for the most part keeping his attacks at a distance with Air Slash, Flamethrower, and Dragon Rage. When felt it worth the risk, Smaug got in close enough to attack with Iron Tail, Slash, and Fire Punch. Grim managed to score a few hits and nearly managed to get Smaug with a Thunder Punch. The battle ended with another one of Smaug's burning cloud's. There was a small sigh from Zaria as she returned Grim and pulled out Zorua's pokeball, "I was kind of hoping I'd managed to get us on an even level, ya know."

"There's always next time," Vali offered earning a small chuckle.

"True," Zaria released Zorua, "Entangle the senses and fool the mind, Zorua," A Charizard appeared across the field and Vali inwardly grinned at the confused looks on everyone's faces likely at the lack of diffrent pokemon, "Okay, Bud. You know what to do!"

"Smaug, let's get that fox!" Vali shouted in return inwardly laughing.

The fake Charizard flew upwards towards Smaug with some competency showing that it had practice meaning that Zaria had likely been training Zorua with Murkrow. Now you would think that Zaria wouldn't let Zorua go after Smaug in an aerial battle given how fragile the Illusion ability was, Illusion wouldn't actually be disrupted unless a few key introduced. The first was pain which was easier to do when the Zorua/Zoroark were young. The second was over saturation which occurred when another type of energy was injected into the cloak of specialized dark-type energy the species used to fool the senses to the point they couldn't hold up the cloak anymore. So Zaria was safe enough to send Zorua into an aerial battle with Smaug for the moment, the older girl would have to be very careful though and make sure they were grounded before Zorua's Illusion was broken.

Smaug slammed into Zorua with a fiery snarl as the fake Charizard used Pursuit. The two grappled with Zorua doing his damnedest to avoid being caught by the fire filled maw attempting to snap at him. Zorua released a pulsing ball of dark-type energy from its mouth forcing Smaug to break away in order to not get hit. Zorua's attack managed to scratch Smaug, but the Charizard dodged it for the most part. Smaug began using Flamethrower and Dragon Rage forcing Zorua to evade the attacks. Without pausing for a single second, Smaug gave chase and the two put on a show for the crowd. Eventually one of the attacks hit and broke Zorua's illusion causing the fox to hit the ground with a loud cry of pain, the blue-green flames of Dragon Rage overwhelming the dark-type illusion.

"It looks like the jig is up for Zaria and her Zorua!" The announcer shouted as the crowd roared its approval, "I wonder if they'll be able to recover from this blow or if Vali and Smaug will seal their win with this battle,"

"Zorua, you okay, bud?" Zaria asked with a slight frown as Smaug's attack stopped and Zorua rose up with a soft yip, "Alright, we can't fly anymore, but that doesn't mean we can't keep fighting," Zorua let out a determined bark and gave Smaug a glare as he got into a new attack stance, "Let's attack with Shadow Ball!"

Zorua charged it up quickly and sent it at Smaug who easily dodged the attack. Smaug sent a Flamethrower towards Zorua and swept towards the fox with his claws glowing silver. Zorua dodged the flames and jumped up to dodge Smaug's attack before taking off using Agility. A game of cat and mouse began with Zorua adding in his ability to use Dig. Scorching flames and inky dark-type energy went flying as the two attacked one another, Zorua showed that just because he was a first evolution pokemon didn't mean he couldn't stand a chance against a fully evolved one. But there was a limit of what he could do especially with how far he'd been pushed during the last couple of battles even with the rest he'd been given, the way Zorua began to falter after a little while slowly at first showed it.

Zorua's Agility fulled run began to reach its limits which were much higher than most pokemon outside of pokemon like Arcanine and Rapidash could hope to reach. The moment Zorua's black form slipped out of Agility saw Smaug slamming into him with Steel Wing. The scarcely used attack sent him upward with Smaug following quickly afterward to followup with a Fire Punch that sent Zorua back down to earth. Zorua landed harshly, but quickly rose up. Zorua had to move quickly to dodge the follow up Flamethrower and sent a Dark Pulse to get some breathing room. Vali noted the condition Zorua was in and commented, "It looks like Zorua is reaching his limit, Zaria. He's doing admirably, but he won't last much longer."

With how harshly Zorua was breathing and the way he couldn't keep his weight on his right back paw, he wouldn't last much longer at all. The heat was definitely getting to Zorua as well and Smaug's heavy handedness probably wasn't helping much. Zaria looked at Vali then at her pokemon before shouting, "Zorua, can you continue?" Zorua barked with determination on his face, "We may not win this, but we're going to continue until its over."

Vali let out a low chuckle and nodded, "As you wish, I admire the fire that burns in your spirit as the same one burns just as brightly within my own," She pressed a hand to her heart before looking at Smaug, "Smaug, let's end this quickly then so Zorua can get some much needed rest!"

Smaug roared in agreement and swept towards Zorua once more. Smaug released another Smokescreen and caused it to explode. Rather than allow it to fade as it had before, Smaug used Wing Attack and Zorua was revealed barely conscious. It was likely that Zorua would've used Dig to get away from the explosion if his paw hadn't have been injured. Smaug flew in close and used Fire Punch as Zorua released a Shadow Ball causing an explosion. When the dust faded, Zorua was unconscious and Smaug looked a bit bruised though no worse for wear. The announcer shouted, "And Valkyrie Potter-Black has made it into the semi-finals with that win thanks to her Charizard Smaug!"

Zaria returned Zorua as Vali did the same with Smaug. Zaria smiled sadly, "Well it looks like we lost this one, but I'm glad that we managed to make it this far. And seen just how much more training we need to do before facing you again, my friend."

"Thank you for the good battle, Zaria," Vali replied with a grin, "It was a pleasure and really fun. I look forward to our future matches,"

"Agreed," Zaria replied and they both turned away as the crowed cheered their names at the show of good-sportsmanship.

Vali met up with Zaria when they dropped off their pokemon for a check up. Nurse Joy took their pokemon and Vali led the way over to a seating area as Zaria said, "So you're moving on to the semi-finals, huh?"

"Yup," Vali grinned slightly, "It's going to be tough to beat whoever my next opponent is not to mention the next person, but we'll keep on going until we're out for good," She looked at her friend and saw the slight frown, "Zaria, you did awesome out there. Even if we won against you, you put on a really good showing and were a difficult opponent to beat,"

"Kind of hard to believe that," Zaria looked at her hands which were balled up a bit, "We train hard, but sometimes during this Conference its like it was never enough. We kept getting pushed into a wall and Zorua was almost always close to being knocked out. If Murkrow and Nuz were fully evolved, we might not have had such a difficult time, but they aren't," She shook her head, "No, I can't think like that. It's just frustrating to come so close, ya know," Zaria looked at Vali, "I mean we made it into the top 64 which means something, but we nearly didn't,"

"So make it a goal for next time," Vali suggested earning a confused look, "Make that your secondary goal to help become a Dark-type master, you need to either place high or win a Conference. It might mean catching more dark-type pokemon and evolving your current ones if they can. It definitely means training hard, but I know you'll be able to do it. But make that one of your secondary goals that lead up to the big one,"

Zaria stared at her for a few seconds before nodding and smiling lightly, "Alright, but what about you? What are your secondary goals?"

"I can't exactly answer that right now," Vali replied with a slight frown, "Not with Blaine's apprenticeship up in the air and the whole thing with Steven. Once I get an answer from Blaine, I'll be able to tell you,"

Vali thought about the future war and felt her heart clench knowing that Zaria would probably be caught up in it if only by association. One day she would share the information with both Zaria and Lance. But not now when neither really needed to know, she would know when the time came to inform them and hoped it would be awhile yet.

Steven walked into the Pokemon Center and handed over two of his pokeballs to Nurse Joy before walking towards them. Spotting the look on his face, she winced knowing that something had definitely severely annoyed him during his match. Zaria saw her wince and glanced towards Steven, "Ooh, I wonder what happened. He does not look happy at all."

"I'm not sure," Vali frowned softly as Steven reached them, "Steven, what happened? You look severely annoyed,"

"My child of an opponent," Steven answered with disgust coating his tone, "Threw a tantrum when she lost. She barely managed to take out Blastoise and put a scratch on Aggron. How she managed to make it so far, I will never know. The sheer lack of decorum and good sportsmanship she showed was unbelievable," He showed disgust, "And then she had the gall the blame her pokemon for the loss before storming off,"

Vali and Zaria gave Steven looks of sympathy having faced opponents like that before. Everyone ended up facing someone like that at some point and always felt disgusted whenever it happened. The trainers like that either ended up failing out, their pokemon being taken away, their pokemon turning on them, or joining one of the teams that popped up. The last two were worst case scenario and most regions working to prevent that from happening. Steven took a seat next to Vali with a low groan and she patted his arm, "Your next one will be better, I'm betting they'll be a lot tougher and more fun to fight."

"I hope so," Steven smiled slightly before eyeing them curiously, "So how was your battle?"

"Vali won," Zaria sighed softly, "But we gave it our all and managed to take out Elrond, Pele, and Arwen in the process," She grinned slightly, "I've got a secondary goal to work towards underneath my main one thanks to Vali. During my next Conference, we're going to make it past the Top 64,"

"A good goal," Steven nodded his head, "I wish I'd been able to catch it, but I'll definitely watch the replay later. Vali, it looks like we're one step closer to facing one another on the battlefield,"

"Mhmm," Vali felt a bit anxious at the thought, "So it seems," She looked at Zaria, "Are you going to stay until the end of the Conference?"

"Seeing as the League is paying for room and board until the Conference is officially closed, I don't see why not," Zaria smiled lightly, "I definitely want to see who you end up facing between Steven and Lance not to mention who'd win between them,"

Vali nodded in agreement since that battle was bound to be exciting. Steven chuckled softly mood vastly improved since arriving, "I'm glad that you'll be staying staying for a little while longer, Zaria. We should train together."

"Maybe we can improve on your training plan," Vali offered earning a considering look from Zaria, "I saw some stuff that you could improve on during our battle. It was probably the same for you. Since we're not competing against one another, we should definitely get together and help improve each others training plans,"

Zaria grinned at her, "I think that would be a good idea. My pokemon need to become stronger if we're going to reach any of our goals and we'll need all the help we can get. I'd like that, Vali."

"I'm sure our partners will too," Vali offered before looking at Steven, "You in?"

"It sounds like fun," Steven nodded his head lightly, "Though I'll mostly be using it to train up Blastoise, I assume you'll be doing the same with Empress and Aragorn,"

Vali nodded with a slight grin, "Pretty much though Idril definitely needs it as well since she evolved just before the Conference, Empress needs to get used to her body though Lance has been really helping out a lot. Aragorn just needs to play catch up."

"So he's calmed down?" Zaria asked with a curious look on her face.

Vali nodded with a small smile as she ran her fingers over Aragorn's pokeball, "Balto and I had a talk with him. We might need to do it a couple more times, but he should be good for now."

"That's good," Zaria perked up when Nurse Joy called her name, "I've got to go,"

Vali waved her off and Zaria shot towards the pink haired Nurse eager to hear about what was going on with her pokemon. She remembered Sneasel and immediately lost her good mood. Steven looked at her in concern, "Vali?"

"Zaria's Sneasel was burned pretty badly during its match with Arwen," Vali's fingers curled tightly around Aragorn's pokeball feeling some revulsion at the memory, "While it might not have been as bad as it looked, I hate the idea that one of my pokemon caused that kind of damage to a friends," She closed her eyes for the barest hint of a moments and only saw the images of Sneasel's burned form twitching on the ground until Zaria recalled it, "I just...Sneasel looked bad, Steven. A lot of its fur was burned off and what remained..."

Vali cut herself off revulsion twist through her stomach. It was all she could do not to race for the nearest bathroom. An arm curled around her shoulder and she found herself pulled to lean against Steven's side. Steven spoke as she looked up at him in surprise, "I know the feeling all too well even if none of my pokemon are exactly fire-types. Aggron nearly killed an Onix once. Just about ripped it in half because it had attacked us, we'd been in a cave system for a couple days at the time and Aggron was the only one that had any rest. I had been injured and Aggron just snapped," Steven's eyes were slightly distant as he recalled the memory, "I caught the Onix and Nurse Joy managed to save it. It's alive, but has a fear of Aggron despite being larger than him by a good foot," He shook his head and looked at her, "I'm sure Lance has a similar story. I'm sorry about Zaria's Sneasel, but it'll be alright in Nurse Joy's hands."

Vali closed her eyes, "I just wish that we hadn't done it."

"But you couldn't have known and fire being as volatile as it is, it was bound to happen at some point," Steven pointed out, "Battles cause severe damage, Vali. You know this especially when it comes to elements like fire. All you can really do is fight hard and avoid killing your opponent," He shifted slightly, "Zaria, how's Sneasel?"

"He'll recover just fine. The burns were pretty bad, but Nurse Joy can deal with them no problem," Zaria sounded relieved and Vali felt tension slip out of her muscles, "What's with Vali?"

"She's feeling guilty about what happened during the match," Steven answered as Vali opened her eyes, "Though I'm betting Arwen feels worse,"

Vali jerked as she thought about Arwen, "Shit."

"You'll have to wait until Nurse Joy releases her before you're able to do anything about that," Zaria reminded Vali making the fire-type master-in-training slump, "But Arwen should be released pretty soon, she didn't seem to be badly hurt from the battles,"

After getting her pokemon back from Nurse Joy, Vali headed to a secluded area and released Elrond to tell him what happened. Elrond listened quietly before sighing deeply, "I see and understand the dilemma. But it is better that this happened here than somewhere medical attention couldn't be easily gotten down the road, My friend."

"Agreed," Vali murmured as she pulled out Arwen's pokeball, "Translate for me while I try to help out Arwen?"

"Of course," Elrond radiated comfort and confidence.

Vali released Arwen who looked around the clearing in confusion, "Arwen, I wanted to talk with you about today's battle," Arwen's ears flicked back and her head bowed, "Oh Arwen, I know you feel guilty about what happened to Sneasel. I do too," Arwen looked at her in surprise and she sighed softly sitting down, "I put you in the battle wanting to give you a chance to test your strength when I could've just used Smaug or Balto. I could've used Terra or Pippin too. I also could've made better calls during the battle and given you more training before it."

Arwen let out a protesting whiny and Elrond translated, "But you couldn't have known, Vali."

"Neither could you," Vali replied making Arwen draw back a bit with wide eyes, "Sneasel made his choice to hang onto you when your attack was hurting him," She reached out a hand and Arwen slowly made her way over to the fire-type master-in-training, "Arwen, Sneasel will make a full recovery. And sad as I am to say this, we would've ended up in this position at some point down the road only we might not have been so lucky to have medical attention so easily acquired," She rubbed Arwen's neck gently, "I know the guilt is heavy, but all you can really do is apologize to Sneasel when you see him and work hard to ensure that you don't harm those we care for. Okay?"

"Okay," Arwen leaned into her touch, "Did we make it?"

"We made it. I'm not sure who our opponent will be. They'll announce the battles tonight," Vali answered with slipping her arms around Arwen's neck and enjoying the warmth the Ponyta gave off, "We'll have tomorrow to rest and research our opponent. Eager to see who we'll be facing?"

"Yes," Arwen murmured in agreement, "Though if I may request some time before deciding whether or not I'll participate in the next battle?"

"Of course," Vali wouldn't take that away from her, "Take as much time as you'd like,"

Arwen nickered gently and Elrond radiated warm approval.

Vali watched the screen alongside Steven and Lance to see just who their opponents would be. Soon enough all thirty two trainers were matched up, Vali saw that she was matched up with someone named Felix Ulyss. Lance spoke up with a grin, "Whoever wins your match will be facing Steven, Vali."

"Yeah," Vali stared at the screen in shock, "I guess I'll be facing you after my next battle, Steven,"

"But you'll have to beat your opponent first, Vali," Steven reminded her with a soft chuckle.

"I know, but I'm determined to ensure that if I lose this Conference, it'll be against either you or Lance," Vali replied as she looked finally looked away from the screen towards him, "So I'm not going to let this guy beat me. Don't let your opponent beat you either, okay?"

"I won't," Steven shook his head lightly.

Lance let out a bark of laughter and wrapped an arm around their necks, "Alright, guys! Let's make sure we make it through this next round, we have our opponents and the next day to rest and research our opponents. I say we celebrate our won battles with some ice cream."