Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon and Harry Potter

BloodyKitsune1997: Well chapter 39 is here and with it the rest of Vali's birthday! Hope you guys enjoy it~

words: 4, 579

Reviews:

Ether02: We'll see.

HarunoWolf17: Glad you're so excited! You'll just have to wait and see though.

frankieu: Hope you enjoy it.

TekoloKuautli: Heh, hope you're looking forward to this.

Sakihinata: Heh heh heh.

Jostanos: Thanks, Jos. Matsuo, we'll see how their recovery goes.

comodo50: We'll see.

Past Shadows Sin: you'll have to wait and see.

I know I didn't answer every review, but it's past my bedtime, I'm tired. I hope you're all lovely and wonderful. REMEMBER LIST OF POKEMON AND MOVES ARE ON PROFILE!

Chapter 39

Looking over the trade machine as Professor Oak revealed it, Vali was surprised how sleek and compact it looked compared to the ones she'd gotten glances at in the pokemon center. She looked at Professor Oak while pulling out Cufant's pokeball, "This looks really cool, Professor. Where'd you get it?"

"In addition to working on the new improved pokemon transferring system, Bill has also been working on improving the trade systems," Professor Oak grinned at her, "Of course, he gave me one that will allow me to scan pokemon as they get traded. Granted, it'll need to be improved like any piece of technology, but it allows for a wonderful base of information to work with,"

"Interesting," Steven hummed as he looked over the machine as well, "I'll have to speak with my father and see if we can't contact Bill soon. The trade technology in Hoenn is behind after as is the transfer system,"

"I'll inform him to expect contact soon," Professor Oak replied as the machine was powered up, "Now get your Pokedex's ready and the pokeballs, I expect that you both know how this works?"

Vali placed her pokedex into the slot for it and Cufant's pokeball into the place indicated by Professor Oak. Steven did the same beside her and the machine let out a soft whirring sound as Professor Oak tapped the green button on the top. The pokeballs began to glow a soft white light that pulsated softly like a heartbeat. It took only a minute for the trade to happen and the white light disappeared revealing that the pokeballs had changed sides. She picked up her pokedex and the rather nice luxury ball that held Smeargle. She smiled warmly at the pokeball in her hands, "Well, this is a nice start to my birthday. How about we go meet our new pokemon?"

"Sounds like a plan," Steven agreed as he held up the Love Ball that held Cufant.

Vali headed over to a private room where she could meet Smeargle properly. She found one that would hold Balto and a few other pokemon before heading inside. Aragorn and Thorin settled down on the ground as the Vali released Balto. Balto let out a soft yawn before gently nudging her. She smiled softly and rubbed behind his ears as Elrond spoke, "He's ready when you are, Vali."

"In a moment," Vali murmured as she moved to hug Balto, "Hey, Balto. After this, I'm going to do a flight with Celina and Lance. I might do something with Steven as well. But no matter what, we'll do our Birthday run. I promise," She nuzzled her face into his warm neck, "Just you and me, Buddy,"

Balto leaned into her with a soft whine as Elrond spoke, "He says to take what time is needed. He'll be happy to wait for your run."

"Thank you, Balto," Vali pulled back to kiss his cheek before holding up Smeargle's pokeball, "Ready to meet our new friend?" Balto barked with a wagging tail, "Alright," She released Smeargle after moving away from Balto a bit, "Hello, Smeargle,"

Smeargle appeared in a burst of light and Vali took in the difference it had compared to the one she'd seen in the pokedex. Often times when Smeargle came from different regions, they had different colorings to them and more interesting shades of color to the paint on their tails. The Smeargle in front of her had a couple curl marks around the eyes and coils going up its tail. The paint on its tail was a rather wonderful shade of purple with a slight blue tint at the base. What took her off guard was the almost pure what color of Smeargle's fur that made the dark black-brown marks stand out, the paleness was surprising, but also very beautiful.

Smeargle looked around for a moment before focusing in on Vali. It's eyes narrowed for a moment. Elrond spoke softly in her mind, "She wonders who you are."

Vali offered Smeargle a warm smile, "My name is Valkyrie Potter-Black though I prefer Vali," She gestured to the pokemon around her, "The Arcanine with me is Balto my partner and Alpha of my pack. The Alolan-Raichu is Elrond. The Flareon is Thorin. The four tailed Vulpix who's getting pretty big for his size is Aragorn."

Smeargle looked around her curiously with a frown, "Why do you have me?"

"Steven, the one who had you before, traded you to me," Vali answered as she got down on Smeargle's level, "According to him, you're talented with photography," The Smeargle nodded with suspicion, "I'm a photographer when not battling. With my last couple of gigs as a photographer, its become clear I've needed a pokemon with an eye for it. Elrond's good and my other pokemon do their best, but they cannot replace someone that has the passion for photography I do," She took out camera and held it out to Smeargle, "Here, you can look over the photos on this if you like. These were taken recently by me,"

Smeargle took the camera carefully and began scrolling through the pictures. Vali watched Smeargle as she began to pet Aragorn. Aragorn was almost double the size of a Vulpix right now and would probably be the size of a Ninetails when he gained his sixth and final tail as a Vulpix. She wondered just how big he was going to get at this rate as a Ninetails. Smeargle broke in her thoughts with Elrond's help, "These...these are wonderful."

"Thank you, Smeargle," Vali told the painter pokemon, "I am hoping that with your help I can make even more wonderful pictures,"

Smeargle looked at her carefully, "I will not have to battle?"

"Not if you do not wish to," Vali promised as she felt her shadow shift a bit, "I have a Litwick that dislikes battling though she does train to ensure she can protect herself. If you want to train to ensure you can protect yourself, I don't mind ensuring it. But no battling is needed, I have packmates that love to fight,"

"Then yes," Smeargle nodded with a smile and held out the camera to Vali, "I will happily join you,"

Grinning at Smeargle, Vali took the camera and held out a hand, "Welcome to the pack, Smeargle. It'll be wonderful to have you!"

Flying on Celina's back was wonderful, the feeling of air flowing across her body and the twisting currants boosting their flight path. Lance ensured their flight was interesting with the games he and Diaval pulled. Steven joined them with Skarmory not long after they got into the sky. They stayed in the sky for a good few hours before finally coming down for lunch. They met at the lab where Professor Oak greeted them with a chuckle and some lunch. Vali separated from them after she finished eating and grabbed Balto before taking off on his back.

Balto slowed to a stop after an hour of running though he could go for much longer. She slid off his back and waiting until he laid down before curling up against him. She spoke after a few moments, "Another year, Balto. I'm twelve years old though if we were back in my old world, I think I'd be what, twenty something? It's honestly fuzzy. Details like that are fuzzy now," She looked at her hands as the magic within her veins buzzed slightly and the fire warmed, "I remember important stuff and the big moments. The small stuff is getting fuzzy though. It's a strange thing to remember on your birthday, huh?"

Balto nuzzled into her and she smiled with a low sigh, "I shouldn't be too worried though. It's nice to forget things like Petunia's face or Vernon's," She flexed her fingers letting the magic come up and fizzle a bit, "I wonder how everyone back there is though."

Vali continue to talk with Balto about her fading memories about her old world which helped to keep them alive. She also talked about what had happened since the year before. It was what they came out here to do on her birthday. It was both to begin the next year with a clear conscience, but to also ensure that she could commit her old world to memory. Balto was happy to listen to her and offer comfort when needed even if it was just to listen as she spoke. By the end of it, she always felt lighter and ready to take on the year ahead.

Vali rode up to the house with Balto starting to walk, "Well, we're home."

Balto let out a soft woof as he stopped in front of the house and she slipped off. She returned him and headed inside. She heard voices coming from the kitchen and walked towards it after releasing Balto again. She found Delia, Ash, Steven, Lance, Professor Oak, Gary, and Sirius speaking with one another. She smiled softly at the sight of Sirius, "Hey, Siri. Long time no see."

"Pup!" Sirius swung around and pulled her into a hug, "I didn't hear you come in,"

"Just got back from my yearly birthday run with Balto," Vali explained as she hugged him tightly and noticed that he had some bandages hidden under his clothes, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Sirius offered her a tired smile, "Last mission was a bit rough, we got through," Vali eyed him for a moment before deciding to let him be, "Happy Birthday, Pup,"

Vali smiled at him as she pulled away, "Thanks, Siri."

"Before anything else is said, I want everyone to sit down!" Delia told them earning nods.

Vali quickly took a seat after getting a hug from Gary. Delia put a plate of food in front of her as she said, "Happy technical 12th birthday, Vali."

"Thank you," Vali told her with a warm smile, "This is wonderful,"

"It's no problem," Delia continued to place food on the table with some help from Ash and Gary, "I love having you home even if it'll only be until tomorrow,"

"Tomorrow?" Ash and Gary both looked dismayed by that, "You're leaving so soon?"

"With my apprenticeship ending so soon, I've got loose ends to finish up not to mention ensuring the battle goes well on our end," Vali gave the excuse that Blaine told her to as guild welled up within her even stronger, "With all of our preparations, we can't stay as long as I wish we could. Once the apprenticeship is over, we'll come back and spend some time here before we head to Vermillion,"

Ash frowned at her while Gary nodded, "Promise, Vali?"

"I promise," Vali offered Gary a light smile, "I should be able to give you guys some training time when I home next,"

"Great!" Ash perked up, "I can't wait!"

Delia giggled softly at the quick turn around. Sirius frowned at Vali, "You're not pushing yourself too hard, are you, Vali?"

"Only as hard as my pokemon," Vali replied as she grabbed her fork, "It's exhausting work, but worth it in the end,"

Sirius opened his mouth only to close it moments later after Delia gave him a look. While curious about it, Vali just wanted to enjoy her time left with everyone here.

After dinner, they all went into the backyard to play around a bit with their pokemon while Vali groomed the various mon starting with Sirius' Regulus. The Houndoom was putty in her hands within the first few moments. She could tell based on the amount of hair and excess bone that she needed to trim off that he hadn't been groomed since the last time she had done so which was at least six months ago. Lance and Steven thankfully kept up on their pokemon's grooming though all of them were very happy to get groomed by her apparently talented hands. When she got to Gary and Ash's pokemon, the two boys were taught how to groom their pokemon properly.

Vali took a small nap after packing her things and getting ready everything ready. She woke up to Elrond's gentle mental nudging and whispering to get up. She stared up at the ceiling for a moment with a mental sigh before carefully getting out of bed and beginning the process of waking everyone up and returning them. Only Irmo refused to get up, she just shook her head with a small smile before returning him. The only ones left out of their pokeball were Elrond and Thorin both for companionship and because Elrond was keeping an eye on where Blaine was. Grabbing her bag, she carefully left her room and began to walk through the house as quietly as possible.

The only ones awake were Regulus, Metagross, and Diaval who were laying within the living room. Vali shushed them before they could wake anyone up. She handed them the berries she'd prepped and spoke in a soft voice as Elrond immediately began muffling the sound, "I've got to go now. A thing has come up back at the gym requiring my attention."

The berries were accepted though Regulus whined at her softly. Metagross spoke in her mind as Vali began heading towards the door, "Is this why you felt guilt today? Why you radiated it?"

Vali hesitated before nodding as she paused by the door, "No," She wasn't surprised that Metagross had felt her emotions, "There was another reason, it is something I cannot say. If I'm allowed to, I will immediately."

Metagross let out a low groaning sound, "Very well, we wish you safe travels, Vali."

Vali left the house and carefully locked the door behind her. She made her way towards where Elrond said Blaine was. It took her only a few minutes to arrive. Blaine looked at her when she arrived, "Happy late Birthday, Brat."

"Thanks," Vali murmured tiredly, "Where are we going?"

"We'll be heading to North Pastel," Blaine answered earning a confused look, "It's the last town before the Wilde North. It's also a Ace and ranger base,"

"The last town?" Vali murmured in confusion, "How can it be a town and a base?"

"The rangers and Ace's have their families their," Blaine answered as he began walking away from the town, "The other residents are either trusted members of the League or former members,"

"Ah," Vali supposed that made sense, "And what's the plan exactly?"

"We'll get settled there and everything will be explained in the morning," Blaine replied earning a nod, "C'mon, Brat. Let's get going,"

Vali and Blaine once again shared a room though thankfully it was big enough for them to let out their pokemon. She practically passed out after releasing her pokemon and finding a bed. It was only once she'd had a proper rest and the something to eat that she took in North Pastel. The town was rugged and definitely more militaristic compared to most. The walls were made of harsh looking jagged stone and watch towers sat at key points. The streets were uniform and lacking many colors outside of the pokemon that inhabited the area. While it wasn't an unpleasant place to live, the difference from everywhere else she'd visited was startling.

Blaine took her towards one of the larger office buildings where they were led into a meeting room. A female Ranger with a Ninetales smile warmly at Blaine, "Gym Leader Blaine, It's good to see you again. I suppose this is Valkyrie Potter-Black. The young Fire-type Master-in-training, right?"

"I am," Vali replied with a light nod as Thorin peered at the woman with suspicion, "And you are?"

"Ricky, Sargent Ricky Gold," The woman answered with a grin as purple eyes flashed slightly in amusement, "Nice to meet you, Kid. I look forward to working with you on this mission. You know what it's about or has the old man not said anything?"

"I haven't been told anything," Vali told the Ranger as she tried to remember if Sirius had mentioned a Sargent Gold before, "So what is going on?"

"Take a seat," Sargent Gold told her as Blaine moved to sit down, "To put it bluntly, you pretty much kicked open an ant hill, Kid. We have no idea how deep everything goes just yet since that brat we nab at the Conference doesn't have all the information. What we do have is some locations and the ability to raid them, you're going to be helping us,"

"Uh," Vali looked between the two as she sat down, "What exactly is happening?"

"The pokemon that brat had were on the verge of shadowing/darking," Sargent Gold answered earning a blank look, "Most of them were shadowing, they were in danger of losing themselves to the dark emotions in their hearts and becoming filled with rage to the point of becoming a Shadow Pokemon. Darkening is rarer though far more sought after. Unlike the shadow pokemon who lose control, they become blank and bloodthirsty seeking out only to destroy whatever caused their heart to disappear,"

Vali felt her heart ache at the thought, "Someone did that to those pokemon?"

"Is doing that to others," Sargent Gold corrected, "It can be healed...Well, the shadow pokemon can be healed. The Darkened Pokemon are lost and cannot be healed," She clenched her fist, "If we can get to them soon enough to heal the pokemon and save them before the process is far enough, we might just be able to stop anymore pokemon from Darkening,"

Vali nodded as she closed her eyes, "So what is the plan for us?"

"Once the other gym leader joins us, we'll introduce you three to our forces here," Sargent Gold replied as Thorin rubbed his head into Vali's knee and she began to pet him, "You, Vali, will be working with a team on reconnaissance and hopefully we can find the target of our operation soon,"

"Got it," Vali didn't mind that too much.

The door opened as soon as she said that and Vali soon found her lap occupied by a rather happy Raichu. Letting out a laugh, she hugged the Raichu gently, "Raichu! I missed you. I guess that means, Surge is here."

"You'd be right, Brat," Surge boomed from the room's entrance, "Happy birthday even if its a day late,"

"Thank you," Vali ignored Thorin's grumbling at Raichu, "Yesterday was fun, I got a Smeargle from Steven. While she won't be battling, it's going to be nice to have backup for my hobby,"

"Good to hear, Brat," Surge grinned as he walked further into the room and Raichu let go of her, "So ready to get this mission started?"

Vali nodded Raichu jumped off her lab and ran over to Surge, "Yeah. I've been ready to get it over with since the moment I went home filled with guilt over having to stay quiet. It was bad having to leave in the middle of the night."

"Sorry, Brat, but secrecy was needed," Surge told her.

"Interesting as this conversation is," Sargent Gold spoke up, "We should go get the introductions over with,"

Following after Sargent Gold following the somewhat quick introduction, Vali felt a bit of nervousness run through her at the thought of meeting what would be the team she'd be with during this time. Sargent Gold spoke as they walked towards where the squad was, "Virgo Squad is lead by Team Captain Serval Tear of Ace. Serval's squad has two other Aces and three rangers. They're somewhat dysfunctional, but they're good at what they do."

"That sounds like my pack," Vali told her as Thorin rumbled in agreement beside her, "It'll be interesting to work with them,"

"Glad to hear it," Sargent Gold smiled slightly as they stopped in front of a rather large door with a Furret painted on the door, "Here we are,"

Sargent Gold opened the door revealing a rather spacious office with Virgo Squad scattered among it. There was classical music coming from one desk with another playing rock music, a Ranger was throwing paper airplanes around with his Espeon. At the back of the office, an Ace was sitting at the desk in the back looking over in a report. The Ace looked up, "Hello, Sargent. How can I help you this morning?"

Sargent Gold spoke, "As we spoke before yesterday, Valkyrie will be joining your team for the duration of this open. She's been one a mission at this level once before at the beginning of her apprenticeship and it didn't end quite as well, so do ensure that things end better. Vali, ensure that you listen to Serval. If you all will excuse me, I've got work to do."

Vali nodded as the rangers and Ace's saluted as Sargent Gold left the room. Serval spoke after Sargent Gold left the room, "Potter-Black, welcome to Virgo Squad's office. My name is Serval Chase. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure to meet you as well though please call me Vali, I prefer," Vali told him earning a small nod, "This is one of my partners, Thorin. I have him and my Alolan Raichu out usually,"

"I saw your Raichu in the tournament last year. Very effective use of his skills, I assume you've expanded on them since then?" Serval asked earning a nod, "Good to hear though I expect nothing less of a Gym Leaders apprentice," He leaned back in his chair, "Now, I've got a couple rules for while your with us. My main rule is that your flying-type pokemon do leave their feathers around the place. Any canine pokemon eat neatly same with any other pokemon. Only two pokemon allowed out at one though more are allowed out in the field, we tend to play it in the wield. Other than that, you need to listen to my orders,"

"I can do that," Vali didn't think those were too hard to follow.

"Then welcome to Virgo Squad, Valkyrie Potter-Black," Serval smirked at her.

Vali was sitting on Balto's back with her Smeargle taking pictures of the rather pretty scenery. She glanced away from the photo of a rather beautiful looking group of Bellossom dancing to the female Ranger not far from her, Kelly Stray, spoke up, "So this is enjoyable to you?"

"Yes," Vali turned back to her photos, "It's soothing and the photos are beautiful. I also have a secondary income that lets me support my pack,"

"Huh," Kelly hummed softly, "So our next place to go is in the westward direction as ordered by Serval,"

Vali nodded as she took one last photo, "Sounds good, I've got enough photos of this area. Smeargle, you good?"

Smeargle nodded and handed Vali her camera which was placed in a specific pouch. Kelly led the way on her Zebstrika. Kelly spoke as they made their way west, "So it's been about four days, how do you like it with us?"

"It's not bad," Vali smiled lightly at Kelly, "Being around you guys reminds me of human versions of my pack with some differences, I've enjoyed it. It really makes me think that if I need to go into the Aces for a bit, it wouldn't be too bad if only because I'd have a chance to be around humans like you guys,"

"Don't like humans too much, huh?" Kelly asked with a curious look.

Vali shook her head, "It's not that I don't like them, Kelly. I just understand pokemon a lot better."

"Well with the Ace and Ranger Corps, you'll find pretty much everyone agreeing with that statement," Kelly grinned at Vali, "Humans can suck and pokemon are so much better,"

Vali grinned at her in reply.

Within the Wild North, the area was beautiful and untouched save for the pokemon that called this place home. Taking pictures in this place was wonderful. Vali enjoyed it and her pokemon loved the gigantic amount of space they got run around in. Surge stole Vali a couple of times when she had free time and took her for some training. It was nice to keep training especially since Surge had new techniques for her to play around with. So despite so much anxiety running through her about this mission, she was enjoying it greatly.

Delia wasn't mad at her for sneaking out late at night. Sirius was a little angry, but got over it. Ash and Gary were a little pissed off though she wasn't too worried about it right now. Lance and Steven were more disappointed than angry. Lance had wanted to go for another flight. Steven wanted to go to Celadon with her for a bit. So Vali would probably need to make it up to everyone for leaving in the middle of the night with no explanation, she wasn't looking forward to it.

The night time photo-taking was the most interesting for Vali since she got to see a lot of nocturnal pokemon. She was currently in one of the deeper valleys and focusing her camera on a larger than normal Stantler grazing before pausing. She carefully zoomed in and snapped her picture before taping her ear to activate the earpiece, "Dominic, I got something. You still nearby?

"Of course, Fire-girl," Dominic sounded like he was grinning, "Whatcha got?"

"Just get over here," Vali took another picture when the Stantler moved in a way that let her get a better picture.

It took five minutes for Dominic to arrive during which a Stantler of similar size arrived allowing her to take more pictures. Dominic landed besides her, "Fire-girl, you got something?"

Vali pointed at the Stantler, "Look at their necks and the bases of their horns, you tell me."

Dominic looked at her then at the Stantler with narrowed eyes. He took out his binoculars and took a closer look at them. It didn't take him long to spot what she'd seen, "They're marked. Holy fuck."

"I've seen that mark on two other species of since I started taking photos," Vali told him as she put her camera in its case after saving the photos, "I think we might've just found a way to track down these people,"

"Maybe or there might be a poacher," Dominic muttered under his breath as he continued to look at the Stantler for a moment, "Regardless, we should go tell Serval,"

Vali nodded in agreement, "In the morning though, he's asleep and did just finish up a full forty-eight hour shift."

"In the morning," Dominic agreed as he looked at Vali, "We'll stay out for another hour. I hope we can find more evidence of those marks,"

Serval looked over the photos then at Dominic's report, "And you found three Stantler last night?"

"In addition to two Pidgeot and a Rydon," Vali answered as she pointed to the other pokemon, "As far as I've been able to tell, they're bigger than normal though not of the King variety. Nothing else was different between them and the rest of their species,"

"Alright," Serval nodded to himself, "I'll take this to Sargent Gold and we'll see what happens. Good work you too and Vali?"

Vali looked at him curiously, "Yeah?"

"Nice photos, they'll really help in the future," Serval told her.