Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon and Harry Potter
BloodyKitsune1997: Conference is Done and second chapter in a month. Do not expect this again and fuck am I worn out from writing two chapters in a month, but inspiration is awesome! I love you guys so fucking much!
Words: 16,618
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Guest: Hi, Dan! Nice to meet a new fan. Well this chapter will answer how it'll go down. That sounded like an interesting idea, the time-frame honestly doesn't match how things need to be unfortunately. Sorry.
Chapter 24
Rather than put in some last minute training that would likely not do any good and exhaust her pokemon that needed to recover from their previous battles, Vali decided to use her day before the battle against Steven to wander around Indigo like before though this time with only her pokemon for companionship. Aragorn walked beside her along with Houndour who was quickly adapting to being around so many people. Eevee sat on her shoulder and gazed at the various humans with some suspicion though it lacked the open hostility it once held. As she wandered around, the camera hanging from her neck was used to snap new photos.
Vali found herself swarmed by a couple of little kids that had apparently been awed by her performance in the Conference and ended up introducing them to her pack. Eventually the kids were taken away by their amused if a bit wary parents that eyed her Charizard, she waved them off and returned her pokemon save for the three that had already been out as a familiar voice boomed, "Well if it ain't Vali. How ya doing, Kid?"
"Surge?" Vali turned to find the man walking towards her with a grin on his face and Raichu on his shoulder, "I'm doing pretty good. How've you been?"
"Good especially now that my gym ain't flooded with babies and tourists," Surge grinned as he bent down to pet Aragorn as the fox ran over to greet him, "Little shits getting big. You have to feed him as much as the others yet?"
"We've had to adjust his diet somewhat, but not to that point just yet," Vali replied as she smiled at the man as Houndour peered at him curiously, "You here for the Conference?"
"Yup," Surge stood up as Aragorn walked back over to her, "You've done pretty damn good getting this far, Kid," He congratulated with a chuckle as Raichu hopped down to greet her and she hugged the electric type happily, "Let's have some lunch together, I know a pretty good restaurant that'll let your team eat with you. It's on me,"
Vali hesitated for a moment knowing how much her team could eat especially given certain pokemon diets now, but nodded after a moment since it'd be nice to catch up, "I'd love to to."
Surge and Vali exchanged stories about what had been going on since they'd last seen one another. Vermilion had apparently been busier than ever during the last months before the Conference almost beating out Viridian which made sense since Surge was feared right behind the top three for just how brutal his main team could be. There had been a few instances of winter weather problems, the biggest happening during the spring thaw though it wasn't that big a deal apparently. A few severe storms had set off the electric-types rather severely, but it worked in the Leagues favor as they'd been able to power some new generators ups. Other than that, the Surge had to deal with some regular gym duties and stuff with abused pokemon which took up most of his time.
Surge let out a booming laugh as Vali described some of the stuff both her pokemon and brothers had gotten up to during her training period in Pallet Town, "Damn, Kid. I can't wait until those kids are old enough to become trainers especially that one boy, Ash, he'll be a riot."
Vali grinned in reply feeling light, "He's going to be an amazing trainer."
"So, Kid," Surge gave her a look, "What's going on with you?"
Vali gave him a confused look, "What do you mean?"
"It's obvious somethings bugging you. I don't need to be a stuck up psychic like Sabrina to know that," Surge gave her a stern look and Vali winced, "I trained enough with you and your pokemon to know somethings up. You're hiding it pretty well and I probably wouldn't have noticed it if we'd only spent a couple minutes around you,"
Vali sighed deeply and put down her fork, "I've mentioned that if I did well during the Conference Blaine would take me as his apprentice, right?" Surge nodded with raised eyebrow, "Steven offered me the chance to travel to Hoenn with him and Sirius gave his consent."
"Fuck, Kid," Surge winced slightly, "That is tough, I get why you're having trouble,"
"Blaine still hasn't said anything," Vali said which she understood since the old man might be waiting until her final battle to see what happened, "I've talked to my pokemon and got their opinions. It was helpful especially since I know I'm not going to disappoint them,"
"I don't know what to tell ya, Vali," Surge shook his head, "You've probably been given more then enough advice on what to choose. In the end, I'm just going to say this. Whatever you end up choosing, you'll think of the what if's of the other choice regardless, Kid. It's a fact of life, but you've got to move forward with your life," He nodded to their pokemon who were eating around them, "They're counting on you after all,"
Vali looked at her pack for a few moments before nodding, "You're right. Thanks, Surge."
"No problem, Kid," Surge said as he grabbed his drink, "I'm glad to help,"
After Lunch, Vali and Surge went their seperate ways with the Gym Leader borrowing Elrond for the day. Surge promised to return him later in better condition than he left which she didn't doubt. Rather than question the man, she merely nodded and wished them a good day while hugging Elrond. With her pack's bellies full, she decided to head to the nearest park to laze about for a bit and ended up encountering the very Gym Leader that had been on her mind since the Conference began. She had been settled with Balto underneath one of the large trees and Smaug napping not far from them. Aragorn and Houndour played together with Litwick in the shade of some nearby trees under the watchful eyes of their elder pack members who lazed about in various positions. Much like with Surge, Aragorn was the one to alert them to Blaine's presence though he was preoccupied with greeting Ninetales.
Each of her pack gifted the gym leader a wary look as Blaine approached, the man seemed unaffected by the looks he was offered. Vali spoke as she rubbed Balto's side, "Blaine, it's a pleasure to see you again. How have you been?"
"I've been well, Vali," Blaine replied as he reached her, "Relaxing today?"
"Big match tomorrow," Vali replied as she reached into her bag and pulled out the journal he'd given her, "Unlike most, I know that I'm probably going to lose tomorrow, but rather than try to grasp a desperate win through last minute training which would end up doing more harm than good, I'll let everyone get some rest," She held it out to him, "The journal you gave me,"
Blaine took it most likely noting the dog eared edges of the pages, "Looks like its been through a lot of use."
"Well, you did say to use it," Vali replied as her pokemon slowly began to relax likely taking in the energy she was giving off, "I've been writing down a lot and going back to it. It's been really helpful like you said it'd be and I'll be getting another one in the future,"
"I'm glad to hear it," Blaine said as Ninetales slowly began to play with Aragorn.
"Would you like to sit?" Vali asked earning a chuckle and nod.
Blaine slowly took a seat on the ground by her and took in the pokemon around him especially the fire-types. Vali said nothing as she simply enjoyed being around her pokemon and not knowing what to say. Blaine thumbed through the journal for a few minutes before speaking, "You've done well in the Conference, Vali. Especially during your first one, I've seen many things that you can improve on, but I'm sure you have seen such as well."
"I have," Vali agreed as she looked away from where she was watching Houndour chase one of Ninetales' will-o-wisps, "I'm learning a lot from my competitors when I watch matches and look at the playbacks of mine,"
"It seems that you've still got a good head on your shoulders," Blaine nodded to himself with a light smirk and closed the book in his hands, "And your pokemon seem to be doing well. Have name your Houndour yet?"
"No, she's too young," Vali had wanted to wait a while longer.
Blaine hummed lightly as he handed over the journal and she put it back into her bag. The old man said, "In all my years of being an Elite Four then a Gym Leader, I've never taken an Apprentice as most masters do not unless someone special comes along that provokes an especially strong reaction in them. Some," Blaine grimaced here, "May call our gym trainers our Apprentices, but that is not the same as not all Gym Leaders are Masters especially among the younger generation though they're quickly hurrying to become one," Ninetales let out a yip of laughter as she caused both younger pokemon to trip over each other and Litwick began scolding the large fox before going to check on her friends, "But our Apprentices would do the work of Gym Trainers."
Vali knew that from what Professor Oak had told her, "Professor Oak mentioned something along those lines awhile back."
"Figures he would," Blaine snorted softly, "I'll be blunt, Vali. I'm an old man that prefers being alone and bothered by the little brats that flood my island every year. Sure, I get a good battle from some, but it drags on me. When we met on that beach and then again during our battle, I felt a spark I haven't in years," He grinned lightly, "Between that and everything I've seen so far during the Conference, I've decided that if you'll accept it, I'll take you on as my apprentice,"
Despite knowing it was a possibility, the offer still took Vali off guard. She didn't know what to say and had trouble forming words for a few minutes. Balto raised his head and nudged her which helped quite a bit. Looking at Blaine, she said, "I...I'm honestly surprised your offering me this now before the battle tomorrow."
"While seeing the battle tomorrow will no doubt be a good look at your potential, I've already made my decision," Blaine told her with a grin, "So what do you say?"
Vali thought about it carefully as she ran her fingers over Balto's fur with Blaine watching the pokemon running around. The offer she'd been waiting for had finally come, so now she needed to make a decision. Everything that she'd thought about over time came to mind, the pros and cons of each choice especially. Everyone's words played through her mind. It was Steven's words from the night previous and Surge's words from earlier that helped her make the decision. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she slowly let herself as the decision was made. Looking to Blaine, she said, "Blaine, I'm going to take you up on your offer. If I'm going to progress as a fire-type master, I am going to need help and you're the best person I can think of."
Blaine's grin widened, "Glad to hear it, Vali. Once the Conference is over, I'll give you a week in Pallet to recover then have you come to Cinnabar. It'll give me time to get the paperwork done."
Vali's eyes widened at that, "There's paperwork?"
"Of course there's paperwork!" Blaine grinned at her, "I'll need to put through the forms to make you my Apprentice, a full time Gym Trainer, make it so you'll be able to help run the gym with me once you're ready, and increasing your carry limit," He paused for a moments before snapping his fingers, "Oh, I'll be sending paperwork for you to work on. Mostly a consent and temporary change of residency form for the duration of your time under me, I'll get everything that you can't fill out settled before its sent to you, so you'll only have to worry about the parts you can actually fill out,"
"Alright," Vali was glad there was someone to guide her in this, "Once I receive them, I'll look fill them out once after a once over,"
"Good you're not stupid enough to sign something without looking it over," Blaine nodded lightly, "You're going to need to keep that up while working under me,"
Blaine spent much of the time until Vali was due back to the Oak residence for dinner explaining what her duties would be. Well, what he could tell her, the rest would have to wait until she was officially sworn in as his Apprentice and under contract at his Gym. In exchange for room and board, she would need to work at the gym doing various tasks. When Blaine was able to or during set times, he would teach her about fire-type pokemon and further her knowledge depending on what the old man felt like teaching. If something happened like back in Vermilion with the wild fire, she would be under Blaine's direct orders. All in all, the whole thing was pretty self explanatory and she'd be getting a steady income to her bank account which was a definite bonus.
They parted with Blaine giving Vali his number and a promise to call her soon enough. She headed to the Oak residence feeling light knowing where her future was headed. While she might regret not going to Hoenn with Steven at some point in the future, the chance to study under Blaine and bring out the potential in her pokemon now could not be missed. With his help, she'd be to better improve everyone and get their power up to an acceptable level. And she would be closer to wherever the Lord of Flame was, it was better to be closer to Kanto than further away once he called.
"Vali, how was your day?" Sirius asked as everyone ate their dinners, "You seem happier, Pup,"
"I ran into both Surge and Blaine today," Vali said causing some of the noise to drop, "Surge decided to eat lunch with my pack and I. He took Elrond for the rest of the day, but he'll be dropping him off soon. Blaine ran into us in the park and we talked until I headed here,"
"What did you two talk about?" Delia asked with an eager look in her eyes.
Vali smiled lightly, "A bunch of things, but it all has to deal with me becoming his Apprentice. I'll get a week to recover and get things settled in Pallet town then head over to Cinnabar to start things off. He'll send over paperwork during that time for me to sign, but it won't be the big stuff until I head over to the gym."
"Oh, Vali," Delia looked at her with pride.
"So you're not coming to Hoenn with me," Steven said with a slightly disappointed look on his face.
"No," Vali shook her head, "I thought about it a lot ever since you asked me and while I really do want to explore Hoenn with you, it's not something I can do right now," She gave Steven a sad but determined look, "This Conference has shown me that my pack and I have much growing to do especially if we're to reach our goal in the future, you'd be able to help us, but you'll be working to become Champion of Hoenn, Steven, and I'd hate to take any of your focus away," She held up a hand to cut off his protests, "It's not just that either. I need to gain skills that only a Fire-type master has and this is the best way to do that. I'll also be fulfilling one of the requirements that the League set up for me before allowing me to become a pokemon trainer,"
"Wait, huh?" Lance looked at her in confusion, "What do you mean 'requirements'?"
Vali turned to the red head feeling glad that Ash and Gary had wanted to eat with the larger pokemon out in the garden meaning they likely wouldn't hear this, "Lance, do you really think the League would've let me go off with a few pokemon and no guarantees of loyalty to Kanto despite what they'd done to me especially given that I still have memories of my former world?" She snorted softly and shook her head, "You're not stupid, Lance."
"So what? They're conscripting you into service?" Lance asked with fury tinging his words, "That's bullshit!"
Those last few words were hissed likely not wanting to bring the current conversation to the children's attention, Vali was thankful. Steven looked like he was about to join Lance though she wasn't sure what he would say. It meant that the steel-blue haired male hadn't known about this part and she was happy about that. Holding up a hand to keep anyone from saying anything else, she spoke in a soft tone, "The League isn't conscripting me. It's more ensuring that they don't have to. It was agreed upon by myself and the League shortly before I took the trainer test in order for it to happen that I'd work for the League in some capacity for a single year. Once that's done, they'd let me go though would have the ability to call upon me if need like they do the retired Aces or Ranger forces."
"Vali, what are the other requirements?" Lance asked eyeing me.
Vali looked at him tiredly, "Unless you're part of the higher portion of the League, my family, or I complete a requirement, I cannot say as I am bound to a contract."
"Fuck," Lance slammed his hand onto the table, "That isn't fair to you, Vali,"
"It let me meet my pack, Lance," Vali told him, "It let me meet my first human friends. It let me deepen my hobby and make it into an actual job," She shrugged lightly, "In the end, both sides benefited even if its stressful," She looked at Steven, "I'm sorry about not going to Hoenn with you right now, but I will visit. Eventually,"
Steven nodded slowly, "I know. We'll figure out when to schedule things."
Sirius slammed his hands on the table suddenly and gave everyone a glare, "Hey! We're supposed to be enjoying dinner. Let's eat and have some fun, Guys! No Sirius topics."
"Dear Arceus, Sirius, don't make stupid jokes like that," Vali groaned at him as the tension in the room broke.
The next day dawned nice and sunny despite the clouds that had been gathering the night before telling Vali that weather altering pokemon had definitely been involved. Vali grabbed her pokemon and after breakfast took them outside for a pep-talk. Everyone gathered around her eagerly though stayed silent as a soft breeze blew her shoulder length hair around. She spoke once they were settled, "Alright, guys. You all know what today is and who our opponent is. I won't sugar coat it, so I'll just say this," She gave each of her pokemon a once over, "We're going to show Steven our best. We won't go down easy and we'll do our best to take every pokemon he sends out with us. Show him the strength of the fire that burns within our hearts even in the face of sure defeat, we stand tall."
Everyone released noises of agreement with their eyes shining full of determination. It was time to show the world how much they've grown since everyone had joined the team.
Steven looked at his team as they settled around him knowing that Vali was doing the same thing. He felt some regret that they'd be battling today, but also quite a bit of excitement since it'd be one of their few actual matches. He easily kept the conversation from last night in the back of his mind with practice and help from Metagross. Clearing his throat once everyone was settled, he spoke, "Vali is our opponent and she won't be an easy one. We'll have our hands full since her team is built on being cunning and powerful. For all that Vali and her team are our friends, they're our enemies today and in order to progress, we must take them down."
Steven listened as his team gave cries of agreement and nodded to them. Vali would be in for it since his team wouldn't be taking it easy on her. A smile touched his lips as Metagross said, "Friend Vali and her pokemon wouldn't appreciate us going easy."
"No, they would not, would they?" Steven chuckled softly.
The battlefield was a rock one as Vali strode into the trainers box with Aragorn in his usual spot and Eevee sitting on her shoulder which had to be a surprise to the crowd. Steven walked into the other one and waved earning a grin from Vali as she did the same. The announcer started up moments later once the Referee had reached his spot, "Folks on this fine day, we have the second to last round of the Semi-Finals of the Indigo League! In the Green Corner, we have Valkyrie Potter-Black from Pallet Town here in Kanto!"
The crowd roared with many shouting her name and Vali waved to them. She shouted out, "I hope you all enjoy the match. Win or lose, I hope my pokemon and I light a fire within your hearts that burns brightly for the ages!"
The crowd cheered again earning a laugh from the announcer and Steven shook his head with a chuckle. The announcer continued once the cheers died off, "And in the Red Corner, we have Steven Stone from Mossdeep City in Hoenn."
The crowd cheered loudly again as they shouted Steven's name. Steven waved to them and shouted, "I hope you all enjoy this battle as well."
The referee called for them to begin the battle. Vali had talked with each of her pokemon before the battle and decided on a basic line-up. While her first pokemon would be a little surprising and might disappoint a few people considering how much she'd done in the Conference so far, she didn't really care especially since he'd asked to battle. He wanted to be given a chance to show off how much he'd grown especially to someone who'd been there back from the beginning. She grabbed Pippin's pokeball and released the Luxio as Steven did the same with Blastoise. The announcer shouted, "Well that's a surprise, it seems that Vali has a Luxio."
"You're using Pippin? Is that smart, Vali?" Steven asked looking a bit concerned.
Vali shrugged as Pippin looked at Blastoise with determination in his eyes, "Pippin asked and he deserves the chance to try at the very least. I had a feeling you'd be using Blastoise in the first match," She smirked a bit at Steven, "Besides, you're underestimating Pip just a bit, don't you think?"
Pippin charged forward has his form blurred and multiple copies began to appear. Each tripping in time with creating a mass of confusion, Blastoise looked a bit confused, but quickly responded with Water Gun to get rid of the copies only to find them continually replenishing. It cut off the water as a Thunder Bolt raced down the Water Guns to its canons. The move was still slightly uncontrolled, but its speed was fast enough that Blastoise couldn't stop the attack fast enough. As Blastoise shouted his pain, Pippin lept from his clones and raced forward to use Thunder Fang-Crunch which they still needed to name now that he'd managed to get it down. Blastoise retaliated with a devastating Brick Break that sent Pippin flying followed by a Hydro Pump that definitely had to hurt especially as it drove Pippin into the ground. Pippin managed to force Blastoise to stop by sending another Thunder Bolt through the water. Based on how loudly Blastoise screamed, it must've been a lot more powerful than the first one.
Pippin hacked up water and stood up on shaking paws. Though despite being water logged, he was ready to give up and Vali understood. Pippin raced towards Blastoise again and used his Thunder Fang-Crunch combo. Blastoise growled grabbed at Pippin who let go and backed away only to have to start dodging Icy Winds as the turtle began using Iron Defense on himself which would making defeating it annoying later. Pippin tripped over his paws allowing Blastoise to hit him with a Water Pulse followed by an Icy Wind to the tail which froze the end and began causing him to trip up even more than before. Blastoise began hitting Pippin with increasing accuracy and tanked the electric attacks that the Luxio managed to get off. Even when Pippin managed to break free of the ice, Blastoise was able to beat badly.
A yowl and hiss left Pippin as he went flying once more only to come down harder than ever as Blastoise backed it up with a light based attack that definitely hurt. He struggled to get up feeling far more worn and torn then he could remember; However, couldn't stop moving forward with the battle and let Vali recall him yet. He refused to give up even if it meant the pain got worse, Vali and the pack were counting on him to weaken Blastoise just a bit more. He'd do it for them even it meant staying in the pokemon center for a while. He forced himself up with defiance and determination as an electrical fire seemed to explode through him. Everything went blank for a moment before more power than he had before seemed to be available to him and new instincts appeared though one remained constant: Protect the pack no matter.
Vali watched with slight disbelief as Pippin evolved and wondered how the hell two of her pokemon could evolve during a Conference. Just as she was about to return him, he lept towards Blastoise and resumed the battle with new power. Clearly, he was one of the pokemon able to battle right from the start though she'd need to return him fairly soon. Pippin attacked with Thunder Fang-Crunch while also surprisingly chaining it with Spark which he'd been unable to do before. Most likely it was the heightened hormones of evolution that allowed for it, she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth since he'd likely be able to do it later on.
Blastoise roared and threw Pippin off with an Ice Punch followed by a Flash Cannon. Pippin looked about ready to continue, but Vali stopped the fight, "Pippin, I think that's enough," He looked at her and she smiled softly, "You've done well, Pip. I'm so proud of you especially given the unexpected happenings. You've done enough. I think it's time for the others to take over."
Pippin looked hesitant, but nodded as the Referee called out, "Valkyrie Potter-Black, Do you forfeit your Luxray?"
"I'm forfeiting him," Vali confirmed as she returned Pippin and putting his pokeball away before grabbing Elrond's, "Come out and battle with me, my friend," Elrond appeared and looked around curiously, "Pip evolved,"
Elrond's eyes widened slightly, "We'll have to celebrate, but that's for later. For now, we need to take down Blastoise," Elrond narrowed his eyes, "Quick?"
"Quick. We have no idea who he'll send out and he still has all six pokemon," Vali warned earning a nod.
Elrond got straight to work setting up Electrical Terrain and working on electrocuting Blastoise while confusing him. Psychic was employed to keep any water-type attacks from getting close as well as keeping Blastoise still long enough to hit the turtle. Blastoise did manage to hit Elrond with an Icy Wind before he went down which sucked quite a bit. Steven returned Blastoise and sent out Claydol making Vali inwardly curse though she'd expected it of him. Steven spoke with a slightly cheerful tone, "Didn't think I'd make this easy, did you?"
"I'd be angry if you did," Vali told him as Elrond began zipping around the field while Claydol raised mounds of dirt to follow him, "But it is admittedly aggravating,"
Elrond got close enough to use Iron Tail only for it to hit what looked like Light Screen and Claydol hit him with a close ranged Psyshock. Elrond went through two mounts of dirt before he managed to stop himself. He shook himself and resumed flying around the field as he spoke, "That didn't work and it's likely that Claydol will counter me like that again."
"We'll have to abuse the storm cloud trick," Vali told him earning a sigh from Elrond, "We don't have many options for Claydol. Work on layering the field with seeds, we'll need them,"
"True enough, I hate getting wet for this stuff," Elrond complained though he went to work.
Vali felt semi-amused especially since Elrond absolutely loved getting a bath and taking a long soak especially if his tail was submerged. She made a note to see if they could get a spa day after this since he definitely deserved it with all the hard work he'd put in during the Conference. Claydol shot Shadow Balls and Psybeams towards Elrond while creating more mounds of earth. Elrond managed to shoot an Electro Ball into the sky before having to duck and weaving as Claydol's attacks got closer to hitting him. Each one that clipped him sent a jolt of pain down their bond, the Shadow Ball that managed to hit even numbed their connection to the point they couldn't speak and she barely felt him sending a thrill of alarm through her. She clench her hand into a fist, but forced herself to think in a calculative manner as she considered the options of how they'd do this. With the water, they'd be able to use the stronger electric-type attacks to effect Claydol for a short while, but it wouldn't be enough. The grass knot wouldn't be enough either even if they'd manage something. She wished that they'd managed to get the Volt Switch TM at some point if only so Elrond would be able to switch out with someone better suited for the match, but even then no one on her team was really suited for it. Inwardly gritting her teeth, she shouted out, "Elrond, Agility."
Vali vowed to see what it'd take to get Surge to cough it up since he was bound to have it. No way in hell was she letting Elrond get hurt like this anymore if she could avoid it and Pippin could learn it too if she remember correctly. Elrond sped up as he worked on avoiding Claydol's attacks and increasing obstacle course though he had to take some of it out with Iron Tail soon enough. As soon as he did, Claydol struck grabbing Elrond with Psychic and shooting him with a volley of Shadow Balls before letting go as a Psybeam followed slamming Elrond into the ground. Elrond laid there for a few seconds before raising up slowly as rain began to fall slowly at first before beginning to pour down. With it came a powerful Thunder that struck Claydol, it was stronger than Vali was expecting and actually made the psychic shields around the field vibrate.
Before the smoke could even clear, it was pierced by a second Thunder attack that struck Claydol who'd apparently moved to a new position earning a groaning sound from the clay doll pokemon. While not as powerful as the first, it still carried a powerful charge boosted by the water falling from the sky. Claydol cleared away the clouds with Sunny day not seeming to want to risk another Thunder attack before resuming its onslaught. Elrond worked on dodging as best he could, but Claydol wove a net of earth that managed to trap him though not with getting hit with Iron Tail a few times. In the end, Claydol managed to knock out Elrond before Vali could return him though not without paying the price.
Vali considered her options as she returned Elrond and whispered to his ball softly before returning it to her waist. She picked her next pokemon carefully especially since Claydoll was still in a decent position, but not the best. She released her next pick and Celina appeared with a shriek earning a surprised look from Steven. She ignored him for the moment as she said, "He took out Elrond. We're down two and Steven's down one. For Elrond, Celina."
Celina trilled with determination filled eyes and took off into the sky. She easily avoided Claydol's attacks and shot Twisters towards it while adding feathers into the attack with Feather Dance like she did with a lot of her wind-like attacks now-a-days. Celina used Mirror Move when Claydol used Shadow Ball on her and the clay doll pokemon was too surprised to dodge. Steven spoke up as the battle continued, "I thought Celina was more preoccupied with learning Agility during your training period."
"She was. Mirror Move is something she learned rather recently," Vali replied with a soft chuckle, "It only took her from the beginning of the Conference to a few days ago. I'd say it was just in time,"
"Indeed," Steven shook his head lightly.
Celina showed off that just because her move pool was on the smaller side didn't mean she wasn't strong. There was a reason Vali considered her among the strongest of her pokemon, Celina mastered every move she had to perfection before adding another one which only made her more powerful. Celina ensured that Claydol would know that just because it took out Elrond didn't it'd get a free pass. However it soon became clear that Claydol was mostly testing Celina, the clay doll pokemon disappeared with Teleport only to appear above the flying-type and used Rock Slide.
Celina shrieked loudly as the rocks began falling down on top of her and she was forced to dive to avoid them. Claydol teleported under her and sent a Psybeam towards her. Celina was too close to avoid it and ended up hit head on which sent her careening away. Claydol must've used Rock Slide again since Celina ended up hitting quite a few of them as she went careening through the air, she barely managed to right herself before hitting the ground. Celina let out a shriek and sent off a high powered Twister followed by a Gust that looked closer to a Hurricane than anything else. She slipped into Agility while taking off again and suddenly Claydol was being hit by it's own Rock Slide. When Celina reappeared, she used Hyper Beam which sent Claydol slamming into many of its created earth mounds before the beam petered out. Celina breathing heavily as she was forced to land and a glance at Claydol showed that while it was still standing, it was definitely worse for wear. Claydol seemed to shake off the pain after a few moments and resumed attacking. With a glare towards it, Celina did her best to dodge while dealing with Hyper Beams recoil.
It wasn't fun for Celina especially when Claydol decided to use Rock Tomb. Seeing Celina getting crushed by those rocks which had to be boosted by Psychic in some way, it was painful to watch. Celina struggled against it using Steel Wing in an attempt to break free, but Claydol kept up the pressure. Vali realized that at Celina's current level she wouldn't be able to do anything meaning that this wouldn't go anywhere. Grabbing Celina's pokeball, she called out, "I'm forfeiting Celina."
"Very well," The Referee acknowledged before announcing the field change which would take place.
Vali looked at the now grassy field and wondered at the fact she wouldn't need to deal with ice anymore the Conference. They probably wanted to keep the field it perfect condition and didn't want a repeat of the last time she'd battled on an ice field which she understood. Steven released Claydoll who looked moderately better than before and she sent out Smaug who roared as he appeared on the field. He immediately took flight and began bathing the battlefield in Smokescreen. During the break, she'd told each of those that were going to be battling what had happened in the previous battles and everyone was determined to do their part. As for her starting with Smaug, the amount of anger he was feeling right now was the only reason she'd started with him and the fact that Claydol needed to be taken down.
The Smokescreen exploded after Smaug left it leaving Claydol just a bit crispy. Smaug dodged Claydol's Psybeam and Shadow Ball attacks while slicing through the ones he couldn't dodge with Duel Claw. When he got close enough, Smaug used Shadow Claw and Fire Punch before hitting Claydol in the face with a pointblank Flamethrower. Claydol flinched backward as earth shot towards Smaug in an attempt to get him away. Smaug jumped up and used Dragon Pulse earning a moan of pain as it struck Claydol. Claydol Teleported away from Smaug in an attempt to get some distance, but Smaug only used Smokescreen in revenge. What followed was a bunch of loud noises and flares of bright lights as everyone waited with baited breath for some kind of result. When the Smokescreen faded, Smaug was the victor with a few bruises, but Claydol was down.
Steven returned Claydol and I felt some vindication at seeing the clay doll pokemon gone. Steven took a few moments before he sent out Skarmory who shrieked loudly and took to the air. Vali swallowed harshly knowing that only Smaug would be able to take Skarmory out of all her pokemon in the air without facing so much difficulty it wasn't even funny. Smaug roared in challenge at seeing Skarmory and the two began circle one another occasionally lashing out with an attack. Smaug kept his flight patterns closer to the ground since he'd be able to have some advantage if they ended up fighting there while Skarmory kept up high. Seeing that long range attacks were doing nothing, Vali shouted, "Smaug, Boost with Sunny Day before closing the gap. Long range won't do us much good at this rate."
Smaug roared in acknowledgement and began the plan while Vali hoped it was a foolish plan despite her being right. Even if facing Skarmory at a distance truly was a waste of time right now, Steven had ensured his deadly companion would be able to fight in close quarters without even needing to consider her razor sharp feathers. She had faith in her partner though and knew that Smaug would be able to pull through even if it would mean that this match would probably end in a tie between the two. Sweat gathered on her brow as she watched Smaug close in on Skarmory with fire gathering in his mouth, a fist coated in flames already ready.
Skarmory let Smaug get close though quickly counter his first attacks with Steel Wing and sent him falling backwards with Air Cutter before following up with Aerial Ace. Smaug had righted himself as Skarmory approached and managed to dodge the bullet that was their opponent. Sending a Dragon Rage Skarmory's way, Smaug flew upwards as he created a few copies of himself as Skarmory burst past the wide-range Dragon Rage he'd used. Skarmory barely paused for a second at the sight of so many Smaug's before beginning to use Swift and Air Slash. Smaug used Dragon Rage in reply which burst the Swift and a Wing Attack to get rid of the Air Slash follow by a Flamethrower that rode on the lingering traces of air current to boost itself surprising Skarmory with its strength. Skarmory backpedaled as quickly as possible though it ended up suffering some burns, but Smaug didn't let up as he went right through the flames after his opponent. With a roar, Smaug struck Skarmory with a Fire Punch and Shadow Claw before following up with a close range Flamethrower.
Skarmory didn't let that stand even with the pain she was face. With a defiant shrieking Metal Sound, Skarmory used Night Slash and Steel Wing with her individual wings forcing Smaug back away from her even more than the Metal Sound had. She followed up with Air Slash as Smaug worked to get his barrings and Air Cutter. Smaug dodged the best he could and roared in pain when some of the attacks managed to hit. He ended up creating a Smokescreen only for Skarmory to dissipate it in seconds, but he'd gotten enough time to get his barrings. Smaug sent another Dragon Rage attack towards Skarmory and followed after it working to get in close once more. Skarmory shrieked in anger and sent a Dark Pulse toward Smaug. Smaug dodged it and continued his path. When he reached Skarmory, Smaug used Fire Punch and Toxic forcing Skarmory to swallow a good bit of it.
Vali winced at the sight though she had to admit that was a good way to ensure that Steven would either need to switch his pokemon out or they'd take the the Armor Bird out. Skarmory didn't let Smaug off easy for that move and quickly sent him careening towards the ground with a Flash Cannon. Skarmory followed after Smaug via Aerial Ace with murder in her eyes and he barely managed to dodge the attack. Smaug used Flamethrower, but Skarmory dodged around it sending Air Slashes towards him in return. Smaug dodged the attack and created another Smokescreen that Skarmory quickly dispersed only to find Smaug firing a Dragon Pulse in her face. Smaug had to quickly used Dual Claw to block Skarmory's Slash and Steel Wing Combo. With a roar, Smaug followed up with Flamethrower which only served to further anger Skarmory.
Between the two battling pokemon, Vali couldn't tell which one was worse off especially with Smaug's Toxic taking effect within Skarmory so quickly. She did make a mental note that Smaug needed more fire-type attacks and a bigger move-pool than what he had especially since his species did have a good amount of TMs available to them. The two got progressively close to the battlefield before finally landing visibly straining as they glared at one another. Both looked bad, they wouldn't be able to continue for much longer and it seemed that the two knew it. Smaug and Skarmory both rushed towards one another. Smaug's fists alight with fire and Skarmory's wings with Steel Wing. They struck at the same time and flung one another backwards before landing on the ground. Neither got up after a few moments, the referee called it a dual knock-out as the pokemon were returned.
Vali called out Pele as Steven did the same with Mawile earning a slightly curious look from her though she said nothing to him. She only spoke to Pele, "We're down to the last two, Pele. Do your best, my friend."
As Pele and Mawile began to clash, Vali wondered why Steven didn't just send out Metagross or one of his other stronger teammates since that would ensure he'd win this battle sooner rather than later. She shook it off as Pele used Double Team and disappeared among them. Mawile didn't hesitate to begin destroy the clones Fairy Wind as her body danced about the battlefield glowing slightly with each movement. Swords Dance, a move that Vali hadn't really considered often, was the move being moved and she inwardly cursed though had to admit it was clever. Pele used Magnitude getting ride of the remaining clones and damaging Mawile which revealed an empty field outside of the Deceiver pokemon. Rather than get alarmed by this, Mawile continued to use Swords Dance and a silvery sheen appeared over her body which Vali bet was Iron Defense all the while jumping above the ground.
Vali shouted out, "Pele, you need to created limit Mawile's space and force her to stay in one space!"
Pele's response to Vali's orders was to create the familiar walls of Hot Pot around Mawile though this time a smaller version than usual. Everyone waited with baited to see what would happen. Then before Vali's eyes, Pele was thrown from her Hot Pot not by Mawile, but Aggron who roared in challenge. Vali looked up at Steven who smiled lightly as he called out, "Mawile does know how to use Baton Pass, Vali."
Vali inwardly cursed at forgetting that fact and mentally apologized for failing Pele in not remembering it. She looked at Pele as the Numel struggled to her hooves looking like someone had just knocked the stuffing out of her. Pele shook herself carefully and gave Aggron a glare a she stamped her hoof sending a wave of earth forward. Aggron snorted and just raised a pile of rocks up to block it. Rock began raining down from above Pele, she showed off how proficient she'd become with Earth Power by it practically swallowing her in seconds saving her from the rocks. A pool of liquid fire formed beneath Aggron earning a roar of surprised pain as he scrambled away only for it grow larger as it followed him. Aggron finally decided he was done when the burns started to crawl up his legs and suddenly dove into the ground with Dig. Rocks burst out of the ground along with lava as it rumbled and shook, the two pokemon warred underneath it with Pele clearly trying her best against the elder more experienced pokemon.
When they finally appeared, Aggron pulling an unconscious Pele up from the ground. Based on the slightly melted horn and heavily burned chest plate, Pele had ensured Aggron would remember this battle. Vali returned Pele with a slightly shaky hand and murmured her thanks before releasing Balto. Balto appeared on the field with a howl and looked around him before peering at Aggron. She spoke to her partner, "You're the last one, Balto. Steven still has three pokemon. Two of them have battle, but one is still fresh, we've got to do our best regardless."
Balto nodded to Vali as he narrowed his eyes at Aggron and bent his body slightly. Pele's scent was the most recent on the battlefield meaning she was responsible for that injury. He felt pride in the Numel for her hard work and would definitely be congratulating her. Hell, everyone deserved it for their work in the Conference once this was over. But for now, the battle must be fought and focus must be given to it.
Balto started the battle off by slipping off into Extreme Speed and blasts of fire started nicking Aggron randomly earning an annoyed look from the large steel-type. Aggron raised barriers with Stone-edge that he then used to try and knock Balto around. The obstacle courses that Vali used to train her pokemon came in handy as Balto quickly began to jump around and continue his assault even using the Stone Edge rocks as launching points. When Balto finally appeared, he was close enough to surprise Aggron with a Toxic to the face followed by a Flame Wheel attack that actually managed to make Aggron slide back a bit. Balto used Heat Wave before quickly moving away as Aggron began his counter attack with Iron Tail which just barely missed thanks to Balto's swift action. Without missing a beat, Aggron continued on attacking with Stone Edge and Bulldoze when that failed.
Aggron then used Sandstorm which Vali inwardly cursed at, but she quickly shouted, "Defensive maneuvers. Sunshine."
Balto used Sunny Day to work on counter acting the Sandstorm while also using Heat Wave to burn away the sand attacking him. Normally, he'd get underground, but with Aggron around, it was out of the question since the Iron Armor pokemon would definitely go after them. So they had to work in ways that still caused them damage, it was the less dangerous option and would hopefully let them have a better chance at taking down Aggron. Balto let out a loud yelp that echoed through the cloud of sand that she couldn't see through and only for Aggron to roar in pain moments later. It continued as they waited for the sandstorm to clear. When it did, Balto was in the middle of using Reversal on Aggron looking worse for wear though Aggron definitely wasn't feeling the best right then either.
Aggron retaliated with Shadow Claw and Dragon Claw flinging Balto away from him. Balto was breathing hard as he landed heavily, but managed to push himself with a low grunt. Balto darted forward with Extreme Speed as Aggron began using Stone Edge again likely attempting to get some breathing room. Balto didn't let Aggron have the chance as he repeated the combo attack from earlier adding in Flamethrower and Iron Tail to ensure he'd be able to get in more damage. Aggron used Bulldoze right from the start though causing quite a bit of damage and sending Balto stumbling. Withing moments of that happening, Aggron began changing towards Balto with his body glowing.
Balto spotted it and barely had time to dodge the attack which Vali suspected was Heavy Slam. Aggron slid to a stop and winced from the recoil of the attack though didn't completely stop moving. Balto rushed towards Aggron cloaked in Flare Blitz much to Vali's exasperation though she didn't speak out against it. Unlike with his own attack, Aggron couldn't move out of the way like Balto and ended up being hit. Much like before, Balto pulled off their bastardized way of getting out of dealing with recoil though he didn't immediately start trying to use fire-type attacks as Nurse Joy had stressed.
Aggron began attacking Balto the moment he could and used Metal Burst which made Vali pale just a bit. With Balto slowed movement, Aggron was able to hit him with devastating attack that had Balto howl in pain. Looking over her partner when she saw the damage it'd done, Vali realized that it'd be better to forfeit the match. She spoke while returning Balto, "I forfeit Balto. He's too injured to continue and I'd rather not risk him any further."
"Valkyrie Potter-Black has forfeited! Steven Stone of Mossdeep in Hoenn is the winner and will be moving on to the final round!" The announcer shouted as the crowd burst out into loud cheers.
Vali smiled lightly as she ran her fingers over the pokeballs at her waist. She called out to Steven as he returned Aggron, "Thanks for the battle, Steven. I'm glad that we finally got to do it. I'm also glad to see where I stood strength wise. I've got a lot of training ahead of me."
"Thank you as well, Vali," Steven replied as he placed Aggron's battle on his belt, "It was a pleasure to battle you as well. I'm glad we could help. I hope our future battles can be just as exciting,"
Despite no longer having the Conference battles to deal with, Vali had quite a bit to do. Despite losing her battle against Steven, the League would take care of her pokemon's health the same way they had the entire duration of the Conference, but they still needed to take it easy after such an intense battle. Without needing to focus on battles, she could focus on her business with Delia's helpful advice since it wasn't all about taking pictures and sending them out to whoever requests them. Professor Oak finally decided her paper was ready to be published, so they began the arduous process of publishing it. When Sirius decided she needed to take a break from that, he took Vali out for a day that was just the two of them only to discover the price that came with her placing in the top four as a first year trainer: Reporters.
Vali looked at the wall of flashing cameras and reporters while forcing herself to stay calm despite being pretty much ambushed by the group. She grabbed Sirius' arm to keep him from doing something stupid as she held up a hand and announced past the loud voices, "I will not tolerate any shouting or anyone talking over one another. I'm only going to answer a few questions before going about my day. You've interrupted what is supposed to be a day for my godfather and myself to spend some much needed time together," The reporters quieted down and she picked one out of the crowd, "You with the white shirt and black fedora."
"Vanessa Ilum of the Viridian Evening News," The reporter jumped up with a grin on her face, "Valkyrie Potter-Black, you're a first year trainer from Pallet town that started with a Charmander and managed to make your way to the final four in the span of a single year. This is quite the accomplishment, what's next for you?"
Vali felt slightly irritated at the lack of mention of Balto, "I would like to remind you that Balto, my Arcanine, was with me when I left Pallet though he was a Growlithe at the time. I have quite a few plans, but my biggest one is to become a Fire-type master and a member of the Elite Four. For the moment, my pack and I will be resting up after the Conference as we've gone through quite a bit. All in all, I think we all deserve it."
The next reporter stepped up when Vali gestured to him, "Alex Dark of Cerulean Gleam," He eyed her carefully as he snapped a picture of her, "You've said pack multiple times over the course of the Conference in Reference of your pokemon. What do you mean by that?"
Vali smiled as she thought of her team and leaned down to pet Aragorn as Eevee glared at the reporters from her shoulder, "It's simple really. They're my pack, Mister Dark. My family in all but blood. I consider them my brothers and sisters given that they're pretty much all I had during my journey besides my traveling companion," She shrugged lightly, "It's a well known fact that people tend to take on certain terms when it comes to their pokemon after spending so much time with them. Balto and I have spent quite a bit of time together even before I became his trainer. In the end, I started calling my pokemon family, pack, without realizing it. Why stop now when it's a term that's both comfortable and has so much meaning?"
The next reporter stepped up looking at Vali curiously, "Alicia Redtail of Evergreen Times. Miss Potter-Black, you have a team more in-line with that of a generalist than anything else. Why capture them rather than focus on fire-types specifically?"
Vali's smile softened, "Well, Miss Redtail, I'll tell you the same thing I told the kids that have asked me about it before and what I'm going to say to everyone that'll ask in the future. It's all about my connection to them. For some of my pokemon like Smaug or Balto, I felt an instant connect explainable connection to them. For others like Empress, it took a bit for the connection to form since there was reluctance on their side of things," She reached up to scratch behind Eevee's ears, "No matter what type of pokemon I catch is, she or he will always be one of mine because of the connection we share."
One of the reporters stepped forward next, "Vance Flowers of Celadon Highlights," He grinned into the camera before looking back at Vali, "Valkyrie the whole of Kanto was watching you're progress and hoping you'd make your way into the finals. What do you have to say to about what happened against Steven Stone? Are you angry? Sad? How is the Terrain Destroyer feeling?"
"First off is that really the nickname they're giving me?" Vali felt a little dismayed at the nickname especially since only Pele really destroyed any of the battlefields, "But it doesn't matter, everyone wants to know how I'm feeling right? Well, I'm actually proud of my pack and I for making it as far as we did against Steven. Sure, it sucks that we ended up losing against Steven, but in the end, we'll just train even harder to get to stronger for the next time we fight. We knew that we'd lose going in, but didn't let that stop us from trying anyway," The reporters looked at her in shock and she grinned at them, "What? Surprised? I'm not stupid and neither is my team. We traveled with Steven from the beginning of my journey and only stopped after my last gym badge. We knew how strong he was and that winning would be near impossible. Did we give it our best shot? Of course, we ensured that Steven worked as hard as he could. I'm proud that we took down three of his team members and did damage to two others though it sucks that we couldn't take at least one more out. I just wish we could've fought his Metagross if only to see where we'd stood,"
Sirius shook his head from beside her, "You're crazy, Pup."
"Am not," Vali grinned at him, "Balto's probably pouting a bit at not getting a chance at Metagross and you know it. Even if he's the most mature one of my pokemon, he does desire a good opponent and Metagross is someone he enjoys fighting," She turned back to the reporters, "Anyway, I wish both Steven and Lance the best of luck in their match. I'm not sure who'll win though the last time they fought Lance did, so this should be an interesting fight since Steven'll be interesting in evening out the score. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it and I advise everyone to keep an eye on this fight," She lost her grin a bit, "Now, I will answer one more question,"
She eventually picked someone out from the back of the crowd. The reported stepped forward, "Dennis Warren of Goldenrod Halo. With the new season starting up in about three weeks, what do you plan on doing then?"
Vali was quiet for a moment before saying, "Like I said before, I'll rest for awhile. After that, I'll start training in earnest and maybe look to fill up a few gaps I noticed in my team. I might even join the League at some point. I might end up traveling to Johto, but then again, I might not. It's up in the air," She clapped her hands, "Now if you ladies and gentlemen will excuse us, we will be going about our day."
With that, Vali began dragging away her godfather quickly much to his shock. Sirius snapped out of it quickly enough as they turned a corner and quickly took off running with her. When it was deemed safe enough to slow down and actually take a moment to rest, the two dropped down onto a park bench in a secluded area with a couple of drinks. Sirius looked at her as he said, "You were completely calm and took control of that situation within moments without any trouble."
"Steven taught me how," Vali told him with a weak smile, "Still can't believe I managed to do that on my second try,"
"That's the second time you've spoken to reporters?!" Sirius asked with wide eyes earning a nod, "Arcues' sweet ass, you looked like a natural doing that,"
"I was nervous as hell. Thankfully Aragorn and Eevee were there, I'd be a nervous wreak without them," Vali rubbed Eevee's ears as Aragorn snuggled into her side, "I will be glad when they forget about me,"
"I don't think the League will ever forget about the Terrain Destroyer," Sirius teased earning a groan.
"Only Pele really destroyed any of the terrains!" Vali complained earning a bark of laughter from Sirius.
The battle between Lance and Steven was brutal with both sending out their strongest members. The speed all pokemon used strained Vali's eyes constantly and she barely saw certain pokemon at times. Each pokemon held a deadly beauty in its movements and powerful attacks, they savagely ripped at one another without needing a command from their trainers. The barriers around the stands were under constant strain making many fear that they'd buckle even with the League's best psychic pokemon keeping them up. Seeing this battle, Vali knew it was a battle between two future Champions and so did the many others in the stadium that day.
It was close as each pokemon fell one after another. First Lance held the lead then Steven, it was a seemingly never ending cycle until bother were on their last pokemon. Dragonite against Metagross. The two pseudo-legendaries fought more power than Vali could remember seeing either use in a match before today. Just as it seemed as if Steven would win, Dragonite managed to pull out a localized Draco Meteor which knocked out Metagross just before Dragonite ended up passing out. With that, Lance was the champion of the 256 Indigo Plateau Conference.
After offering Lance a few words of congratulation, Vali headed outside to where Steven was standing on the deck clenching his fist tightly. She stopped walking as Steven asked, "Not going to stay with Lance and celebrate his win?"
"He's already surrounded by a lot of people," Vali said as she resumed her pace, "He doesn't need another person to celebrate with. You on the other hand could use someone right about now," She reached his side and set a hand on his arm, "Talk to me,"
"I lost against Lance. Again," Steven said as he continued to look out into space, "It was closer this time, but somehow he managed to pull out a win. How in the world did he manage to do it?"
"Because he wanted it more," Vali answered making Steven's head snap towards her and she held up a hand to stop him from talking, "Steven, what were you thinking about during that battle?"
Steven looked slightly confused, but answered her, "I wanted to win against Lance this time and prove that my team was stronger. I really wanted it since we'd be leaving Kanto afterward."
Vali smiled at him, "And that attitude is why you lost," Steven's eyes narrowed at her and he began to look offended, "Look offended all you want, Steven, but in the end, you'll realize I'm right. I've spent a lot of time talking to Lance and it hasn't always been about Empress. And it's because of those talks that I know what I'm talking about, you need to listen to me."
"Alright, so why did Lance want it so much more than me that Dragonite managed to pull off that last Draco Meteor and win?" Steven asked as Vali began pulling him to sit down.
"Lance's dream of uniting Kanto and Johto, Steven," Vali answered earning a disbelieving look, "Lance's passion when it comes to ensuring that they'll never fight each other again is matched by his pokemon especially Dragonite. There's some more personal stuff involved that I'm not privy to, Lance would have to say something about it, but the point is that Lance's dream was on the line during your match. With his dream resonating within each of his pokemon especially Dragonite who's his starter against you who only wanted to prove who was stronger before leaving Kanto, who do you think had more at stake during the match?"
Steven was quiet for a moment before nodding with a sigh, "You're right, Vali," He smiled slightly, "Thank you."
"No problem," Vali leaned back on her hands after letting go of Steven's arm and looking up at the sky, "I'm just glad all this Conference stress will be over with soon enough. I don't know about you, but I'm probably going to sleep for a week after this is over,"
Steven snorted before asking, "So Blaine, huh?"
"Yup, Hoenn?" Vali asked earning a hum in reply, "Crazy how it doesn't feel like an entire year has passed, I still remember the first time I saw you flying on Skarmory,"
"I remember seeing you chase after Balto and wondering if he was your Starter," Steven admitted with a chuckle, "Time sure has passed since that day,"
A companionable silence fell over them and neither broke it for a while. Eventually, Vali said, "Steven, I'll eventually come to Hoenn at some point, but I will."
"I'll be waiting," Steven smiled at her, "And when you do, I'll hopefully be able to give you some kind of tour. Maybe even find you a pokemon,"
Vali grinned at him in reply, "Sounds like a plan."
Delia called them inside for something to eat and they quickly scrambled to do as the woman bid.
The awards ceremony of the Indigo Plateau Conference was somewhat long winded though Vali was surprised to find that she'd come in 3rd rather than 4th. Apparently Aimee Bisset had completely floored by Lance's Dragonite, the performance ended up dropping her into the 4th place. Kanto tended to have odd rules when it came to deciding how to place their 3rd and 4th ranked competitors. Some years they had a battle between the two and others like this one relied on how the trainer did during their final match. Vali was thankful for it being the later because Steven had quite thoroughly thorn through her pokemon and no one was really able to battle in such a limited time frame even with the medicine that the League was using. Still to find herself in 3rd place was a shock, Vali took her medal with some numbness as she stood on the lowest pedestal and stared at the cheering crowd while carefully plastering a cheerful smile on her face.
President Goodshow made some kind of announcement that she couldn't really hear beyond the buzzing in her ears. The amount of people in the stadium staring at her and the boys was unnerving and this time she didn't have her pokemon to comfort her. She barely managed to keep the smile on her face and was quite thankful when Steven subtle motioned for them to move off of the stage. Steven managed to pierce through the buzzing, "You okay?"
"So many people," Vali said as she rubbed at her ears, "I wish we'd been allowed our pokemon. I was so nervous that I didn't hear any of the words past the first couple of sentences,"
"I'll make a note of that for future references, Miss Potter-Black," President Goodshow said making Vali blush, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you,"
"You as well, Sir," Vali told him as she bowed lightly, "I'm so sorry for not being able to listen to you,"
President Goodshow waved her off with a snort, "Don't worry about it, the speeches I give are pretty much the same thing most years since the League doesn't like me changing things up too much. You didn't miss anything important," He grinned brightly, "Now, I'd love to meet your Vulpix though. Is he really a King?"
Vali released Aragorn as she nodded, "He is. Aragorn, this is President Charles Goodshow. President Goodshow, I'd like you to meet my little king, Aragorn."
Aragorn peered at President Goodshow carefully for a few moments before finally letting out a yip and darting over to meet the man earning a laugh. The man began petting Aragorn and feeding him treats which definitely put the President in Aragorn's good books much to her amusement. Lance and Steven both snorted in amusement as Vali shook her head. Someone came into the room they were in with an Alakazam levitating three boxes behind it. The man was dressed in an Ace uniform and carried himself in a way that said 'don't fuck with me'. He spotted President Goodshow sitting on the floor with Aragorn and Vali right next to him before giving a sigh as while pinching the bridge of his nose, "Sir, you're not supposed to sit on the floor like that. What if there was an attack?"
"If on the off chance my Ace's aren't able to stop said attack, I'm sure Lance, Steven, and Vali would be able to help me up" President Goodshow replied as he looked up at the Ace, "Ah and here are your rewards for getting to this point,"
President Goodshow was easily able to get up on his own which made Vali wonder what the argument was really about. Lance looked at the rewards with some eagerness though he was quick to ask, "President Goodshow, I'm allowed to put off actually challenging to Elite Four for a bit, right?"
"You are, but why would you do that?" President Goodshow asked with a small frown.
"I have a few plans and I know that my team isn't ready to take them on just yet," Lance answered with a slight grin.
"Alright. Just make sure you don't wait longer than two years or this you'll need to go through this process all over again," President Goodshow warned earning a nod from Lance as the Ace had his Alakazam levitate the boxes over to each trainer, "Now in case you didn't know this, everyone that manages to get into the top three of the Conference gets a reward. The money you get is an obvious bonus with Lance getting the most and Vali getting the least of you three. You each get a few ultra balls each, but that isn't that biggest surprise. I'd advise you to look inside the box that you're being given,"
Taking the box, Vali was surprised to find that it was rather light. Opening it, she found a single pokeball and quickly looked up at President Goodshow, "President Goodshow, a pokemon is my reward?"
"For each of you," President Goodshow confirmed with a grin, "It's an open secret that the League will give out pokemon as the Conference reward some years and others something else. What pokemon you've been given is a mystery, I'd suggest trying to find a secluded area and checking it out. They've already been transferred to your trainer id. I look forward to seeing what you do with them," He looked at Vali then at Lance, "Especially you two, I may not have seen Larvitar or Dratini, but I'm sure you've raised them well so far,"
"We have, President Goodshow," Lance told him as he took the pokeball out and cradled it to his chest.
Vali did the same and found her hand surprisingly cold to the touch though it was actually kind of soothing. She rubbed her fingers over the premier ball as President Goodshow said, "Well get going all of you. The Closing Ceremony will be in four hours and you'll have until tomorrow to leave the Indigo Plateau. It's been wonderful to meet you and as much as I'd love to spend more time with you, I've got things to do."
"We understand, Sir," Steven said as he peered at the premier ball in his hand curiously.
They left the room with Vali returning Aragorn and Lance asked, "So what do you think about all this?"
"It's odd," Steven said as he hooked the new pokeball to his waist, "We don't have anything like this in Hoenn. The thought that they'd give us a pokemon on the spot is odd,"
"True, but what do you think they've given us?" Lance asked holding up his premier ball, "Mine feels like a dragon-type of some kind,"
"Mine actually feels cold," Vali said earning a surprised look, "Not as cold as the ice-type pokeballs I've handled for Professor Oak at the ranch, it's more along the lines of the water-types. I'm guessing they've given me a water-type of some kind. I'd say they'd give us a pokemon of our type, but then mine discredits that theory,"
"Mine feels like static," Steven said earning a soft hum from Vali, "We could check our pokedex's,"
Lance snorted softly as he wrapped an arm around Steven's shoulder, "Why do that when we could have more fun in finding out what our partners are when we finally release them?"
Steven rolled his eyes, "I just think it'd be more pragmatic if we took the time to see what they were before."
Vali took shelter in one of the training areas that had been abandoned in light of the closing ceremony. She found a pool of water near the edge of the training ground and made her way towards it though stopped not too far from it. She reached for Balto's pokeball and released him, "Balto," He let out a gentle woof upon his release and she hugged him gently, "We ended up getting a new teammates as a reward for getting this far in the Conference," A shocked look was gifted to her, "I know. Lance and Steven were given one as well. I'm going to release Elrond, so he can inform the rest of the pack as well. But I wanted you out since you're the alpha, you'll be the first pokemon our new pack member meets then I'll introduce them to everyone else."
Balto nodded and Vali released Elrond before relaying everything that had happened. Elrond peered at the premier ball in her hand, "Do you know what kind of pokemon they are?"
"Nope," Vali grinned sheepishly at Elrond, "I decided to follow Lance's example and left it as a surprise for us. I do know it's a water-type of some kind by the cold, but not icy feel of the pokeball,"
Elrond sighed deeply, "You spend far too much time with Lance if you're do things like that. Well, I would suggest releasing our newest pack member as I've relayed the situation. Everyone is eager to find out who they are. Will you offer them a nickname?"
Vali paused at that question before shaking her head, "Not just yet since they're so new, I will once they settle in."
"Alright," Elrond nodded in understanding while Balto nudged her lightly.
With a deep breath, Vali released the pokemon inside the premier ball and watched as it took form. The first thing that she noticed was that the pokemon was a pinniped or seal-like. It's body was covered in thick bluish white fur save for around its maw which was a pale tan in color. A large red tongue flicked out of its mouth and a pair of tusks on its lower jaw. Its circular eyes were coal black matching the nose sitting on its snout. A small horn sat on its forehead which she bet could cause quite a bit of damage when used in conjunction with the two tusks it boasted. It had two sets of flippers on its chest and two more on its tail. Upon seeing all this, she realized that the League had gifted her a Seel and inwardly squealed much to Elrond's exasperation.
Seel blinked slowly at Vali as she bent down and tilted its head slightly. She spoke in a calm voice, "Hello, Seel. My name is Valkyrie Potter-Black and I'm aiming to be a fire-type master. Granted that does seem a bit strange as to why the League gave you to me, I'm still going to make you into the strongest pokemon I can and be the best trainer I can for you. You're one of my pack, my family, now after all."
Seel continued to stare at her for a few minutes before letting out a soft crooning sound and moving slowly towards her. Vali held out a hand to Seel as she'd done with all her pokemon during the first meeting save for Eevee to let it get her scent. Key thing she'd forgotten about Seel was that they didn't have a good nose, they tended to take in anything new by using their tongue upon seeing it. Vali found her hand and a good portion of her arm being coated in Seel's saliva as the sea lion pokemon took in its new trainer. When Seel finished, it let out a soft bark and nosed into the hand that it'd licked.
Vali inwardly winced at being licked like that, but shrugged it off since every pokemon had its quirks. She reached out with her clean hand and pet Seel, "Seel, I'd like to introduce you to two of our Pack members. First is Balto, he's the Alpha and leader right behind me," Balto walked forward and woofed in greeting before bending down to greet Seel, "He'll be in charge of you whenever I cannot be," Balto received the same welcome she had much to Vali's amusement though he'd gotten it straight in the face, "The other one is Elrond."
"I'm the pack translator," Elrond said as he floated close to Seel and peered down at the water-type, "Welcome home, Seel,"
Seel was quick to greet Elrond with a lick who tolerated it with an exasperated air. With that, Vali began the slow introductions of each pack member starting with Smaug. Everyone had a diffrent reaction to Seel's habit of licking them upon their meeting. Smaug almost roasted it only for Balto to force him to back down. Celina nearly followed Smaug's example, but Vali was quick to explain that it was Seel's way of understanding the world around them. Idril found it interesting if a bit odd. Eevee was irritated and took shelter behind Vali. Arwen was amused and nuzzled Seel. Terra grimaced tried to wipe away the spit. Pele was confused though greeted Seel kindly. Pippin was a bit taken aback by Seel's actions, but nosed the smaller pokemon. Empress stamped her foot and headed over to Vali practically demanding to get the spit wiped away. Aragorn licked Seel back and nosed it. Houndour followed Aragorn's example before trying to entice Seel into playing with her. Litwick giggled while keeping Seel from touching her flame. All in all, Seel was fairly well received by everyone.
Vali called everyone to order eventually to scan Seel.
Seel, the Sea Lion Pokemon. Covered with light blue fur, its hide is thick and tough. It is active in bitter cold of minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Seel hunts for prey in the frigid sea underneath sheets of ice. When it needs to breathe, it punches a hole through the ice with the sharply protruding section of its has always been supposed that Seel live only in cold seas, but in recent years they've migrated to Alola leaving scientists baffled. Thanks to its thick fat, cold seas don't bother it at all, but it gets tired pretty easily in warm waters. Unlike their evolved form, Seel do not have a highly developed sense of smell or eyesight. With their highly developed sense of taste, they're able able to learn quite a bit from a single taste and record it in their memory causing many wild Seel to create their territories in certain areas where they've found the tastiest prey.
This Seel is male and has the ability Thick Fat. This Seel knows the moves Headbutt, Growl, Water Sport, Icy Wind, Icicle Spear, and Water Pulse.
Vali whistled softly at that specifically the last two since they were definitely egg moves. The League had done a lot by giving her Terra, but to give her Seel like this was a bit much. What did they gain by doing this? It made her wonder what Steven and Lance had gotten as well.
The closing ceremony was much like the opening only the speech was diffrent and a bit longer winded. Unlike the Opening ceremony, Vali stood with Steven and Lance on that big stage so close to Moltres and it's flame that it wasn't even funny. President Goodshow came through though and she was allowed some of her pokemon. Smaug and Balto stood with her allowing Vali to focus much better. She took precautions to ensure that Fawkes' feather stayed hidden since it was glowing faintly in the presence of Moltres. As soon as she had a chance, she'd be asking Xen about why that was.
When the closing ceremony was finished and they were all released, Moltres disappeared in another flash of intense flames only this time Vali was up close. She actually ended up falling to her knees as its power fell across her body and seemed to tease the energies within. Steven noticed first and quickly helped her up as he murmured, "You okay?"
"Need a moment," Vali muttered as she struggled to regain her focus, "We were so much closer this time,"
Thankfully only Lance needed to stay behind to talk and they could slip away, Steven had Claydol teleport them to the cottage as soon as he could once they were clear of the officials and helped her over to the couch once they were inside. She settled onto the couch rather heavily and he asked, "Is there anything I can get you?"
Vali shook her head lightly, "Not at the moment, I just need to refocus and get my energies to calm down which takes meditation. Just give me time, I wasn't expecting to get so close to a Legendary then for it to flare its powers like that."
"I don't think anyone was," Steven said as he sat down next to her, "Have you packed yet?"
"Some, but not fully," Vali admitted with a low chuckle, "I was planning on doing it after the closing ceremonies," She reached up to grip Fawkes' feather which felt hot to the touch though it was slowly cooling to its regular warm temperature, "How long until you're supposed to be leaving?"
"Two days from tomorrow. Father wants to get back to Hoenn as soon as possible," Steven answered making Vali's chest feel tight, "But we'll be leaving from Vermilion's Port and have business there that he wants me to take part in,"
"So this is our last day, huh?" Vali asked feeling her eyes burn.
"Unfortunately though I should be able to teleport over at some point before we're due to leave," Steven said earning a small nod.
"Yeah," Vali forced back the emotions that wanted to overwhelm her, "I'll make sure to see you off,"
Vali eventually headed up to her room to finish packing and ended up finding Xen perched on her bed. He was going through some of the photos she'd printed off during her time here. She flinched back and barely kept from screaming in alarm upon seeing him. Managing to prevent that, she quickly entered the room and shut the door before hissing, "Xen, what are you doing here?!"
"I came to see you," Xen answered with a smirk, "Flare wished to offer her goodbyes while she went to spy on her partner. It's adorable actually,"
Vali tried to figure out how a gigantic bird with fire streaming from its body could spy on someone before shaking her head. She gave him a look, "And you decided to wait in my bedroom?"
"I prefer not to interact with most regular humans though I will admit the ones you tend to be around are rather interesting," Xen shrugged lightly, "I wanted to be alone with you while we spoke. Now, do you have any questions for me?"
Vali decided that it would be best to begin packing and did so as she asked, "My feather, the one a phoenix back in my old world gave for my wand, its been reacting to my inner fire and to Moltres. Why is that?"
"Because they're beings of fire and at their core they hold a spark of the undying flame. You hold that spark too which is why you've likely felt something as well," Xen replied as he observed her, "I have something similar that reacts whenever I'm around Giratina and he uses his powers,"
Vali pressed a hand to her chest where Fawkes' feather rested, "But how is Fawkes' feather still reacting? It isn't attached."
"Much like the feathers of the Legendary birds, it still holds some attachment to the one it came from which is how it has power," Xen replied as his eyes lingered on the spot she touched for a moment before he looked back at the pictures in his hands, "Any other questions?"
"Not at the moment," Vali shook her head, "You answered most of them the last time we met,"
Xen nodded and placed the pictures down, "Well, I get down to the only other reason I was here then take my leave. You already know to not breath a word of this to anyone, Vali. Especially not the League, you'll have to keep it quiet from them especially during your Apprenticeship."
"How did you know about that?" Vali asked as she'd been folding onto the ground.
"I have my ways, but I'm serious, Vali," Xen looked at her with a frown, "The Legends don't mind us having people inside the League, but there's certain shit that they can't know. Not when the Chosen one has yet to make is appearance and the world isn't about to go to shit, they want this 'peace' to stay, okay?" He looked serious, "You don't want to know what happens if you're the one jeopardizing it, alright?"
"Alright," Vali nodded to him, "I'll keep quiet, Xen,"
"Good," Xen sighed deeply, "Any idea how long this thing with Blaine will last?"
"Not really, he didn't mention a deadline, but I'm assuming a year at least if not two," Vali told him as she resumed her packing.
Xen nodded to himself, "Alright. You should be good," He stood up, "I'm going to get going and make sure Flare doesn't embarrass herself."
"Xen, how will I be able to contact you if I have questions?" Vali asked as the question occurred to her.
Xen hummed softly to himself before saying, "I'll drop in occasionally especially since they'll be wanting an update on you to see how you're coming along. It's most to ensure you don't end up killing yourself my accident, but whatever. See you later, Vali. I hope you don't die in the mean time!"
With that cheerful note, Xen left in a plume of darkness and Vali was alone in her room once more. She decided to put her meeting with Xen out of mind and get on with packing after a few moments of standing there.
Pallet Town was a welcome sight when Vali returned and she could be forgiven for almost immediately crashing upon returning with her pokemon. She barely stayed up long enough to set up a kiddie-pool for Seel to be comfortable in and fill it with water before finally going to sleep. Everyone save for Aragorn, Houndour, Eevee, and Seel ended up sleeping for an entire day with a little bit of the next before finally waking up for more than the necessities. Delia found it amusing as Vali stumbled into the room with her pokemon following though she quickly sent most outside with their food bowls being levitated by a helpful Elrond. Delia served her some breakfast while commenting, "Feeling refreshed?"
"We needed that," Vali told Delia with a yawn as she rubbed at her eyes, "Did Blaine send anything yet?"
"Professor Oak said that the package has arrived for you at his lab and your welcome to pick it up whenever you're ready," Delia answered after kissing Vali's cheek, "Steven called yesterday, but was rather understanding when he found out what was going on," Vali inwardly cursed and made to get up only for Delia to push her back down, "Eat, get dressed, then go call Steven. He's not going anywhere until tomorrow,"
"Right," Vali flushed lightly and resumed eating her breakfast.
A knock sounded at the door and Delia blinked lightly, "Huh? I'm not expecting anyone at the moment. I'll go answer it. You keep on eating while I go see who it is."
"Yes, Delia," Vali answered after swallowing her mouthful.
Delia left the kitchen and Vali focused on her food while keeping an eye on the pokemon that were outside. She inwardly snickered as Seel stole some food occasionally to taste it only to spit it out since the flavor was apparently horrible. The seal-like pokemon hadn't learned that not every pokemon had similar tastes to him just yet and most of her pokemon preferred spicier berries much to his horror. She heard a familiar chuckle as Seel came waddling up to her on the floor with his tongue sticking out and looked up to find Steven. She looked at him in surprise, "Steven? What are you doing here?"
"I did say that I'd come visit before I left," Steven answered as she bent down to pick up Seel and offered him one of the strawberries out of the small dish set up near the middle of the table, "Just eating breakfast?"
"I woke up not too long ago," Vali flushed lightly, "I didn't expect to crash so badly,"
"My first conference left me pretty bad off too," Steven offered as he moved to sit down and Delia made him a plate of food much to his surprise, "You don-"
"Eat, I won't be able to do this for awhile after all," Delia told him sternly earning a nod, "Now, Vali, remember to get that package Blaine sent from the lab today. We need to get everything done as soon as possible,"
"Yes, Ma'am," Vali saluted her earning a snort and a kiss to her forehead.
"Cheeky brat," Delia shook her head, "Have fun today, you two. Steven, I might not see you before you're departure tomorrow, so goodbye for now. I hope your journey through Hoenn goes well. Please tell your father that I wish him well and that I will be keeping you in my prayers to both Mew and Arceus,"
"I will," Steven promised as Delia headed out of the room.
Vali continued to eat her breakfast with a light smile as she listened to Delia leave the house, "She'll be heading to Viridian to get some groceries for the house while the boys at the lab helping out."
"Huh," Steven turned to the food he'd been given and began eating while peering at Seel, "So you were given a Seel?"
"Yup. He's adorable though I haven't begun training him yet," Vali said earning a nod of understanding, "You?"
"A Magnemite," Steven answered earning a confused look, "It'll definitely be an interesting pokemon to work with and not one I was expecting to deal with," Vali put Seel down after giving him another strawberry, "So you've got a water-type to train now,"
"And no idea what to do with him," Vali replied with a chuckle, "I'll be using my resources though. I'm glad I won't have to go hunting for one even if it is a bit disappointing,"
After getting her package of paperwork from the lab, Vali and Steven spent a large portion of the afternoon with their pokemon in the forest around Pallet Town simply spending time together eventually ending up in her special spot by the waterfalls. Eventually though, Steven left and she went back home to work on the paperwork with Delia's guidance. When the next day came, she went to Vermilion with Ash and Gary via Professor Oak's Alakazam to give their farewells. They ran into Lance who was also leaving though he'd be flying to Johto on his Dragonite. Ash and Gary hugged the two teens who were awkwardly trying to comfort the boys much to her amusement. Vali turned away from their plight to Joseph Stone, "Joseph, I'm glad that we were able to meet. While I'm sad that this is the end of the meeting, I am really glad for the time we spent together."
"As am I," Joseph surprised her with a hug, "You're welcome to come visit Devon Corp in the future at anytime, Vali. I will happily take you on a tour and give you some time no matter what. You've made quite the impression on me,"
"A good one I hope," Vali said almost jokingly earning a laugh, "I'll take you up on that offer some time though I can't promise when,"
Joseph nodded and gestured to Steven, "I'd suggest saying your goodbyes now, we'll need to be boarding soon."
With that said, Joseph called the boys to him and Vali moved over to her friends. She sighed lightly, "Looks like this is it, huh?"
"Pretty much," Lance grinned at her, "But I'll make sure to drop in, I'm only going to be in Johto after all,"
"Just make sure to call, so I can warn Blaine, okay?" Vali told him earning a laugh and a nod, "Good," Vali hugged him lightly, "Be safe, Lance. I'd hate to hear that you ended up getting hurt,"
"I'll be careful," Lance hugged her with a surprised look on his face, "You be careful too. Blaine's kind of insane,"
"Don't I know it," Vali laughed as she let him go, "But I'm kind of stuck with him,"
Lance grinned brightly, "That means you'll get stronger though, it's why we, Blackthorns, are so strong."
"I wonder if Dragons and Insanity are the official words of your clan," Vali quipped earning a pout, "I'm only kidding Lance,"
"Still mean of you," Lance told her before heading over to Joseph and the boys.
Vali shook her head lightly and looked at Steven, "Be careful in Hoenn, okay?"
"I will be. You be careful on Cinnabar and try not to be driven insane by Blaine," Steven told her earning a laugh as she hugged him tightly and bit back the urge to release the tears burning against her eyes, "I'll make sure to call you on my pokenav when I'm in a city or find something interesting,"
"I'll call you as well or send a message when I can," Vali forced back the tears, "If something happens during my time with Blaine that interesting or I'm really frustrated, I'll probably send a message,"
"Okay," Steven told her.
Vali eventually pulled away and swallowed heavily as she carefully rubbed at her eyes, "I guess this is a 'See you later' huh?"
"Yeah," Steven rubbed at the back of neck as his dad called for him, "See you later, Vali,"
Vali waved at him as Ash and Gary joined her. She waved as Steven and Joseph made their way onto the ship along with a few other people. Once the ship took off, Lance left as well and it felt like a weight settled in her chest. Ash and Gary looked up at her with tears in their eyes. She pushed down the tightness and heaviness knowing they needed her more, "Let's go get some ice cream, I know a shop here that sells some good stuff and we'll head home, okay?"
When Vali was supposed to leave for Cinnabar, Ash and Gary threw a gigantic tantrum leaving her feeling horrible. The two completely shut Vali out once they'd calmed down, but neither came to see her off the more of her departure. Vali was feeling low at this, but Delia explain it was normal behavior especially with the boys just seeing Steven leave the region not even few days before along with Lance. Delia assured her that they'd calm down in no time and be ready to apologize when she'd return home at some point. While semi-reluctant to believe it, Vali had to take Delia's word for it and headed off to Cinnabar to meet with Blaine.