Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon and Harry Potter
BloodyKitsune1997: We get Vali's animagus form in this chapter and a lot of stuff happening! I hope you all enjoy it!
Reviews:
Jostanos: You'll just have to wait and see!
Chapter 8
Walking through the darkened forest, Ash breathed in the musky air that smelt so diffrent from the forest back by Pallet Town and felt something in his chest lighten as they strode deeper. The sounds of Caterpie, Weedle, Pidgey, Spearow, and even the occasional Rattata racing about caught his ears every couple of moments. He caught sight of a flicker of yellow just out of the corner of his eye and heard Vali let out a soft laugh. He glanced at her as Pikachu made a soft sound of surprise, "Vali?"
"Viridian Forest has a small population of Pikachu," Vali explained as she led them along the path that was starting to become a bit overgrown the deeper they went, "I'm a bit surprised to see one so close to the entrance of the forest,"
"Really?" Gary looked at her while Ash began looking for another flash of yellow.
Maybe Pikachu would like to play with another member of his kind for a little bit or something? Vali spoke in a soft tone, "They tend to gravitate to the deeper areas of the forest where berries grow easier and they don't have a lot of competition from the Rattata-line," Ash turned his head towards her, "Granted, they also dwell there due to a certain someone that tends to make it her resting place."
"Huh?" Ash made a noise of confusion.
Letting out a soft laugh, Vali gave them a teasing grin, "Let's just say that if we come across them during our time here, I'll introduce you two since they're pretty much family to you both."
Ash opened his mouth to argue alongside Gary only for Elrond to speak up, "Best not argue when Vali's feeling playful, Boys. She'll only make your heads hurt worse down the line."
Inwardly grumbling as he remembered some of the the more headache inducing ways that Vali had twisted his own words around on him, Ash agreed while feeling glad that she had mainly done it to Gary. He looked back towards the path in front of them wondering just who they could possibly encounter while part of him hoped that maybe...maybe it had something to do with his birth father. While he might love Sirius as a father, he wanted to actually meet his birth father and get to know the man.
As they settled down for the night with Vali introducing them to how to camp within a forest like this, she had Ash and Gary make the food while coaching them on how to do so much to their surprise. Ash looked at her the stew they were going to be eating was cooking, "Why did you have us make the food tonight?"
"Because you two need to actually cook for yourselves," Vali answered as she sent out messages on her pokenav and got back many affirmative ones back almost immediately, "While I don't mind cooking, I can't do so all the time. It's best if you're able to do it before I either have to leave for a long period of time or I'm sick,"
"You never get sick though," Gary pointed out earning a soft snort from Vali.
"I do get sick," Vali shook her head while putting away her pokenav after receiving the last message she'd likely get tonight, "Just not as often as most do due to how my energies work within my body," She relaxed against Balto, "Which actually reminds me of something we need to discuss,"
Both boys swallowed harshly making Vali wince a bit at the sight, she could have worded that a bit better. Ash spoke while glancing towards Gary, "Uh, what's up, Vali?"
"As you two know, Siri can transform into an animal from our old world," Vali and Sirius had over the years come to see this world as their home, "During my training, I gained the ability to use that transformation though not into an animal,"
Eyes widening, the two boys burst out, "You can turn into a pokemon?!"
Nodding with a slight laugh, Vali felt her unease from earlier start to fall away, "I can. We assume it's due to my inner fire that I'm able to transform into a pokemon rather than an animal though I partially think it was caused due to the bond I share with my pokemon."
Ash burst out, "Can we see it? Can you transform for us? Please!"
Snickering softly, Vali nodded while gesturing to the stew, "Once we've eaten, I don't want to transform on an empty stomach. I made that mistake all of twice and ended up eating my transformed weight in Magikarp," She rubbed her stomach at the phantom twang of pain that rose up and grimaced while the two boys gave her a look of shock, "Instinct is not something Siri warned me about before I tried to learn how to transform and when it comes to the animagus transformation especially with a pokemon form, they're fucking strong."
Eyes narrowing a bit, Ash asked, "Is that why you acted that way during the Rocket incident? When You said those things?"
Letting out a Mareepish laugh, Vali nodded as Balto nuzzled into her side with a soft whine. She gave the two boys an apologetic look, "Sorry if I scared you two. Even when I'm not in pokemon form, the thought of you two being hurt...the thought of anyone I care for being hurt," Anger reared through her as a vengeful howl echoed through her mind, "It brings out that side of me," She shook her head and cleared her mind while forcing down the anger that was starting to taint her inner fire, "The one that Sabrina and I have worked so hard to contain."
"I see," Gary gave her a contemplative look, "So what pokemon can you transform into? Ooh a Charizard?"
Ash shook his head ang gave Gary a look, "No way, she has to be a Pyroar!"
Letting out an amused laugh, Vali leaned further against Balto as all her misgivings about telling Ash and Gary about her pokemon form dispersed. The two spent the entirety of them waiting on the stew cooking and them eating their dinner guessing what pokemon she could possibly. Some were close enough and others were completely outrageous, she promptly sent the guesses to Lance and Steven if only to get a laugh out of the two champions who were likely going through a stressful time at the moment for different reasons. The two sent back messages thanking her for the entertainment and their own amusement when one of the boys got very close to guessing what she actually was. As they finished their food and got everything cleaned up, the two boys gave her an expectant look which earned an amused look.
Rather than bank the fire immediately as was customary for their camping, Vali walked towards it and almost stepped right into the fire earning shouts of shock from the two boys, "Vali!"
Ignoring their calls, Vali let the energies within her veins surge as she called upon the pokemon that resided within her very soul. Heat seemed to boil through her entire body as magic and fire surged outward from the very core of her being, she dimly heard a pair of shocked cries the fire beside her promptly surged with the energy she was calling forth. The fire twisted to coil around her almost like a lover's caress as she shifted and changed into something that hadn't walked this planet since ancient times. As the fire died down and her energies retreated, she let out a long howl that Balto joined in on with Eowyn and Aragorn.
Head lowering from her howl, Vali mentally grinned at the shocked looks Ash and Gary gave her. With a mental laugh, she carefully pounced on the two and began slobbering on them just as Balto usually did when he greeted them after a long journey. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Elrond taking a picture of the them and mentally grinned knowing that she'd definitely be sending it to certain parties within the next couple of hours. Within seconds of her beginning to slobber on them, the two managed to break free of their shock with Gary trying to push away her muzzle as he barked out, "Vali, stop that!"
After a few more moments, Vali pulled away with a cheerful bark and padded over to where Balto was. She happily nuzzled into her brother of an Arcanine earning a bark of joy. Sitting down after a moment, She turned to the two boys who had started to pick themselves up. Ash stared at her with wide eyes, "Y-you're an Arcanine!"
"A Hisuian Arcanine," Gary corrected him while giving Vali a look of surprise, "They're a dual type with Fire as the primary and Rock as the secondary. It was known for leading people on a merry chase while snapping at them with fire cloaked fangs,"
"According to our Master, they're known for their noble natures and similarities with Dragons," Elrond commented to them all as Vali nodded her head, "One of the reason they went extinct is due to their similarities with Dragons. Based on what our Master says, they would not bow to unworthy masters and many were killed when those who were unworthy attempted to claim them,"
"But with how free spirited you are sis, I wouldn't have expected this," Gary shook his head earning a huff of amusement from Vali.
"To speak for Vali, 'For all that I'm 'Free spirited', I have a will of iron according to both Sabrina and our Master. When I have a cause that I've found worth my attention, I will stand behind it regardless of the cost which is why Lance has my support regardless of how frustrating some his antics can be,'" Elrond informed them earning a pair of human.
Ash snapped his fingers, "I get it! When it comes down to things you believe in, you'll stand firm no matter what even if everyone around you believe that you're wrong. Especially since you're one to gain all the facts before you go in head first, right?"
Nodding her head, Vali grinned a bit and barked earning a nod from Elrond who translated for her, "Rock-types might be rigid, but they're not completely stuck in their ways. They are able to change, but it takes time. There is a reason why I do my best not to get stuck on just one thing, the minute I do, I'll likely stick to a certain opinion of something."
"Like with my sister," Gary muttered making Vali wince and cover her head with a paw, "Vali..."
It had taken until last year for Vali to actually warm up to Daisy Oak and that was with Gary actually voicing a wish for his sisters to get along. Even then she didn't truly try until Daisy had broken down in front of her, she hadn't said what happened to Gary or Professor Oak because Daisy had sworn her to secrecy. A part of her still couldn't quite believe that Daisy Oak had ended up pregnant at the age of Eighteen only to lose it in a rather violent accident during a contest in Sinnoh that had seen the contest hall nearly destroyed. It was only luck that the eighteen year old had survived. While she didn't quite like that the other woman hadn't said a thing to her family, she had comforted Daisy over the devastating loss and actually tried to get to know her after that terrible reveal.
Feeling a hand on her paw, Vali lowered her paw with a whine as she spotted Gary. Elrond translated for her once again, "I still have regrets for how I've treated her over the years. While we're good now, I just...I..."
"I'm happy you two are good now though it bugs me that neither of you will tell me why," Gary frowned at her.
"Daisy's story to tell," Elrond automatically answered.
As Gary began to open his mouth likely to argue, Ash spoke up with a slight grin, "Can we ride on your back, Vali? Please? It would be so much fun!"
Letting out a bark of laughter, Vali shook her head earning a groan of protest as Elrond answered for her, "It is too late in the evening for a ride. In the coming days, I do not see why not. We just need to ensure there are no trainers around since I do not need my pokemon form getting around."
"Right," Ash grumbled softly while Gary nodded his head in agreement.
Vali stood up and shifted back with a deep groan feeling all her bones pop into place. There was a slight shudder within her energy as she shifted back which made her grimace a bit, it was always a bit more difficult to shift without a strong fire source. She shook her head as exhaustion started to sweep through her, "You two should start getting settled in. I'll probably hit the hay soon enough as I'm pretty tired."
This got a pair of surprised looks, Vali ignored it as she headed over to her tent and walked inside with Thorin following after her. She flopped onto the sleeping back that was likely not going to be used and took out her laptop as Elrond floated inside with the camera he'd been using to take pictures. After uploading the pictures and editing them for a few moments, she sent them off to who she needed to before shutting everything down and putting it all away. Curling up with Thorin and Aragorn as Balto had chosen to act the guard for tonight, she decided it was time for some sleep after setting her alarm.
Gary decided that he disliked the bug catcher class of pokemon trainer with a burning passion. While he'd heard stories about Viridian forest being overrun with them by not only Vali, but Lance and Steven, he hadn't expected to encounter one every couple of minutes! He was getting stressed out especially since the wild pokemon seemed intent on taking pot-shots at them just because they thought it was funny. The sheer fact that Vali seemed to be disappearing every ten or twenty minutes only to reappear to dose their pokemon with potions increased his irritation. Somehow he had a feeling that she was doing something to encourage the wild pokemon to join in on approaching them, it was either Vali or her team.
Stopping by one of the larger streams, Gary dropped to his knees as Squirtle dove into the water and began to soak. Ash settled against the bank carefully next to him. He panted out, "If I have to deal with one more fucking Bug Catcher, I'm going to kill something."
Ash let out a nervous chuckle as his Pikachu's cheeks sparked in agreement. While Gary might not have liked the mouse originally, he was starting to like the rat a bit if only because it had taken to shocking the shit out every bug type they came across that showed any aggression towards them. Ash shook his head, "Gary, you can't do that."
Snorting as he dropped a hand into the cool water, Gary pulled it back and ran it across his neck with a low sigh, "I know, but it makes me feel a bit better. Somehow, I feel like Vali's making this trip just a bit harder on us. I mean I've never heard of wild pokemon actively taking pot-shots at people unless they're Mankey or something, ya know."
"True," Ash gained a contemplative expression, "Ya know, it would explain some of their comments...Well, the stuff that I could translate,"
Grumbling at that, Gary scowled, "So she is making this harder on us, but why?"
"Maybe that thing with the Rockets scared her more than she's letting on?" Ash offered making Gary's scowl drop and he suddenly felt a lot less frustrated, "After all...it's technically good training even if it does suck a bit,"
"True," Gary released Bell and the Weepinbell quickly stuck his vines into the water with a gurgling groan of pleasure, "Still kind of annoying though,"
"I kno-" Ash started to say.
A low shriek from above cut the boy off and they both looked up to see a Spearow flying at an odd angle towards them. Frowning at the sight, Gary focused on the bird's wings and scowled as he noticed the crooked feathers on it's left one. Before he could comment on it, a large buzzing sound began to rear up making Gary's eyes widen especially as a large Beedrill appeared right behind the Spearow. Narrowing his eyes at the sight, he called over to Squirtle and Bell, "C'mon, we've got a Spearow to save!"
"Gary?" Ash raised an eyebrow at him.
"I'll explain later," Gary called over his shoulder as Squirtle lept out of the water and Bell quickly joined him as they rushed to Spearow's aid, "Bell, I want you to use Razor Vine to get that Beedrill away from Spearow. Squirtle, you use Bubble and Aura Sphere! If you guys can find room to use anything else without endangering Spearow, I want you to go for it!"
With cries of agreement, the two quickly rushed forward to do as ordered. Bell extended his vines past the escaping Spearow who squawked in surprise at the sudden appearance of a Weepinbell. With a gurgling cry, Bell tossed out a flurry of leaves that cut their way towards the Beedrill that cried out in anger and paused as it was barred from attacking the Spearow. Squirtle rushed forward with a somewhat cute cry and released an almost torrent of bubbles as an Aura Sphere charged in his paws. With a low grunt, he released the Aura Sphere as Beedrill struggled to avoid the razor sharp leaves and bubbles.
There was a loud boom as Beedrill was hit by the Aura Sphere and sent flying back, Squirtle and Weepinbell didn't let up their onslaught though as Beedrill was an aggressive pokemon known for keeping after their prey until they'd either been truly dissuaded or the prey had been killed. Spearow landed slowly by Gary and Ash watching the two pokemon in shock. Beedrill eventually flew off with a buzz of disapproval and anger allow the two attacking it to slowly stop their assault. Gary let out a soft chuckle as Ash cheered. Turning to his pokemon, Gary ignored Ash as the boy shouted, "Awesome job you two!"
"Well done, you two did a wonderful job," Gary's eyes shown with pride as he bent down to pat the two on their heads earning pleased looks from them before he turned to Spearow who looked at him in surprise, "Spearow, would you allow me to take a look at your wing? I noticed that you'd been flying a bit off which probably hadn't allowed you to escape easily. I won't even try to capture you despite the fact I'd love a strong pokemon like yourself as part of my team,"
Spearow hesitated for a few moments before inclining it's head earning a look of approval from Gary. Moving to his bag, Gary pulled out the medkit that they'd stocked up on in Viridian city before going to the Spearow. Dropping to his knees beside the bird, he held out a hand and let Spearow eye it for a few moments. With a wince, Spearow slowly extended it's wing and he began to look over the clearly injured wing. While he was no Nurse Joy or Vali, he knew a lot about various pokemon due to his Grandfather.
Grimacing a bit as he examined the wing, Gary opened his medkit and took out a potion as Ash asked, "So what's wrong?"
"It's not broken, but there is heavy bruising around the radius," Gary explained as he carefully applied the potion to Spearow's wing making the bird wince heavily, "The puncture caused by Beedrill's stinger cut right into some of the major muscles right by the radial. Spearow is very strong if they were able to ignore the pain long enough to keep flying," Spearow perked up at that, "Thankfully, Beedrill wasn't using poison-type moves at the time of it's sting or you might be in trouble,"
"That's good," Ash sighed in relief as Gary finished up with the potion.
Moving away from Spearow after drying off the bird's wing, Gary told Spearow, "Flex your wing, I want to see you move it without trouble. Once you do, I'll give you an oran berry which should help with any lingering problems not to mention give you a snack for the road."
Spearow stretched out it's wing and flexed it with a happy coo. Smiling at the sight, Gary dug out one of the oran berries from his bag and held it out to Spearow who took it carefully. Spearow hesitated for a moment before flying off with a rather quick burst of speed. Ash spoke as Gary packed away his medkit, "You wanted to catch it, didn't you?"
"Like Vali says, we all find our partners one way or another," Gary zippered his bag shut once his medkit was secure, "If I'm meant to have that Spearow, it'll come back to me. I won't force it. Besides," He smiled slightly while looking at Squirtle and Bell who were speaking to one another about the battle they'd just won, "I want to make sure whoever I end up with next meshes with my two that I've got,"
"True," Ash patted his shoulder as Pikachu let out a cry of agreement, "We should probably get moving. There's not telling if that Beedrill is going to bring it's friends this way,"
Nodding in agreement, Gary starting walking after returning his pokemon. While they might need stamina training, it would be done outside of a forest filled with bug-type pokemon ready to jump on them. Glancing towards the treetops where Spearow had disappeared, he felt a small pang of longing hit him and hoped that the bird would return to him. It wasn't even because the Spearow line were strong pokemon either. Like Vali had said way back when, he had felt a spark the moment his eyes had met Spearow's and part of him hoped that the bird felt it too.
Watching her brothers walk along one of the many pathways through Viridian Forest, Vali felt a bolt of boredom hit her and was almost tempted to let Nazgul go tease the wild pokemon into fucking with her younger brothers again. The last couple dozen times had been hilarious and ended up forcing the pair through the forest a bit faster not to mention improved their team work quite a bit. She glanced behind her as someone stepped onto the tree branch beside her making it move a bit, "Yellow."
"Vali," The blonde smiled lightly as Chu Chu let out a cry of greeting, "I see that Red's boy and Blue's are making progress through the forest. Good progress,"
Letting out a nervous chuckle at that, Vali rubbed the back of her neck as she saw the dex holder's irritated look, "Are the pokemon complaining?"
"Your Gengar has annoyed one too many of the younger ones," Yellow replied folding her arms, "Bored?"
"A bit," Vali admitted with a sigh, "While I don't mind taking a vacation, I'm more used to actually doing something on them because of Lance,"
Yellow shook her head in amusement and dropped onto the tree next to Vali. The older woman spoke with a fond smile, "That boy, I can see why you're attempting to take a true vacation this time. Though with the situation, you're unable to take a true vacation, are you?"
"No," Vali grimaced a bit, "Which I really hate since it's the boy's first journey, I gave not only my word to them, but Delia, Blue, Green, Red, and Oak..." She closed her eyes while murmuring, "Ash...I hate to say this without confirmation, but he might be..." She reached up to grip the feather hanging from her neck, "The chosen,"
Breath hitching, Yellow murmured something lowly as Chu Chu released a small burst of electricity. There was a small moment before the dex holder spoke, Yellow's voice was soft, "Are you certain?"
"Ho-oh dropped a feather before him hours before we reached Viridian City," Vali murmured as she opened her eyes and looked towards the dex holder with grief threatening to take hold of her, "Yellow...I hate that Ash might be...Why my little brother? Why Ash?"
Deceptively thin arms wrapped around her, Yellow spoke in a firm tone, "Whatever happens, we will be there to assist. We might not have been able to help before...But now that he's grown...Now that they're both grown up," Yellow swallowed harshly, "We won't abandon Ash."
Nodding softly, Vali took what comfort she could for a few moments before pulling away from Yellow. She spoke after a few moments, "Do you want to meet him? And Gary? Spend some time with your technical nephews?"
A small smile formed on Yellow's lips and she nodded with a soft laugh, "I'd love to. I'll even take a look at their eggs and ensure those little ones will be healthy."
Grinning a bit, Vali told Yellow, "I lead them to your home then. It should only take me about two hours from when I meet up with them."
"They're very nervous," Elrond chuckled as Vali led the way through another dense part of the forest.
Inwardly snickering as she ducked underneath a low hanging tree branch, Vali replied, "Could you really blame them, we're technically going off route which they can get into trouble for if they weren't with me. They're also going into one of the oldest parts of the Viridian Forest which they'd been warned from ever going into by just about every adult they've ever encountered. Why wouldn't they be nervous?"
"Very true," Elrond was smiling cheerfully.
Vali glanced back at Ash as he tugged on her jacket. Tilting her head lightly, she asked him, "Yes, Ash?"
"H-how much further, Vali?" Ash asked her with a worried look on his face.
The sheer fact that they hadn't encountered any humans in the last hour probably wasn't helping their nerves either. Vali mentally chuckled as she glanced ahead of them and caught sight of sunlight breaking through the trees. Smiling slightly at the sight, she told him, "Just a bit further, we're about to get there."
"Still not going to tell us anything, are you?" Gary asked while stiffening a bit as they passed by a rather large web.
Vali knew it was made by one of the few Spinarak that made their homes in the forest though didn't know that Yellow had allowed one so close to her home. She would have to mention it to the Dex holder later on. Walking past the web, they finally entered a large sunlight clearing with a rather large pond and a long cabin with what looked to be apple and berry trees set up behind the house. With a grin, she released her pokemon who quickly began to move about the clearing to do their own thing with Thorin and Aragorn gluing themselves to her side almost immediately. There was a bright laugh as the cabin door opened, Yellow exited the house just as the boys began to ask who the place belonged to, "Already making yourself at home?"
"Figured I'd allow my team to be comfortable while you got to know the boys," Vali walked towards Yellow with a slight grin, "I've kinda kept them in the dark, so you might want to introduce yourself,"
Shaking her head with a grin, Yellow told her, "You should have been a Ninetales or a Gengar with that attitude not an Arcanine. Hisuian or not, you're far too mischievous."
Sticking her tongue out, Vali pulled the dex holder into a light hug as the boys gapped at them, "What can I say, I have to surprise people somewhere. I have a very Impish nature."
Snorting softly, Yellow pushed Vali away before giving the two boys a warm smile, "Hello, Ash, Gary. It's been a very long time since I've seen either of you in person. You wouldn't actually remember our meeting," Ash looked confused while Gary gained a look of contemplativeness, "My name is Yellow. Yellow Caballero."
"One of the Dex Holders," Gary voices preventing Yellow from speaking further.
"Yes," Yellow nodded her head as Vali grinned slightly, "You could consider me your aunt as Green and Blue both tend to look at me as a sibling,"
"What about me?" Ash asked with a small frown.
"I'd be your aunt as well," Yellow's cheeks turned a bit red, "Red and I's relationship isn't one that I'd like to broach with you, Ash,"
Ash gave her a look of confusion while Vali struggled against the urge to burst out laughing. She barely managed it as her shoulders shook. A scathing glare directed towards her by Yellow kept the ember haired trainer silent for the moment. She would stay silent about the relationship between Red and Yellow especially since it wasn't her place to say. Gary opened his mouth to speak only for Ash to shrug, "Alright. So...Why are we here?"
"Vali thought you two could use a break and I wanted to spend time with you both," Yellow told them, "Not to mention, I'd like to take a look at your eggs. I might not be a breeder like Gold, but I do know how to take care of pokemon better than any dex holder,"
"Alright!" Both boys look relieved at the thought of a break.
"I'll leave you three to it," Vali grinned a bit at them and snorted when the two boys gave her looks of confusion, "I've got some phone calls to make and some photos to take. Since Yellow can easily watch over you, I'll be taking advantage of some of the better spots in this forest and seeing if I can beat some deadlines that my editor decided to put in place,"
"Try to be back in five hours," Yellow warned her, "I'll have some dinner ready by then,"
"Will do," Vali pulled her photo equipment out and laptop before moving to hug the two boys, "Enjoy yourselves, I'll be back in five hours at most,"
"Y-yeah," Ash hugged her back slowly, "Vali?"
"Yellow's a wonderful person and someone that has my trust," Vali murmured softly in Ash's ear, "She also knows your dad better than anyone else," She felt Ash stiffen a bit, "If there is anyone who can answer some of those burning questions you've got, it might be her,"
"O-okay," Ash nodded slowly and pulled away.
"Be careful," Gary told her as he hugged her tightly, "The Beedrill seem really pissy,"
"That because Celina is showing them whos boss," Vali giggled a bit, "But yeah, I'll be careful," She snorted at Gary's annoyed expression, "I'll be back soon enough. Enjoy yourself,"
Whistling sharply as she pulled away, Vali grinned as Celina shot towards her with an eager expression. Climbing onto Celina's back, she tapped the thin collar that was hidden underneath the thick feathers of Celina's neck and shivered as the custom made saddle she'd had built began to form around her. In seconds, she was secured to Celina's back. Once she'd reached up and pulled her goggles into place with Elrond quickly settling himself and Thorin into their usual seats in front of her, she tapped Celina's back and the Pidgeot took off with a harsh scream that echoed through the air as they shot off like a rocket.
As they began flying over the forest once Celina reached a comfortable altitude, Elrond spoke as Thorin relaxed himself against her, "We have five hours. Two of which can be used to take photos, the rest..."
'We'll speaking with everyone about our job,' Vali replied as Celina headed towards an area that they'd been directed towards by Yellow earlier on, 'This is a fucking mess and a half,'
"Just a bit," Elrond muttered as Celina slowly began to spiral down towards an empty hollow that was covered in burn marks.
As Vali dismounted, Balto rushed into the clearing with Smaug and Aragorn. Smaug crossed his arms as Balto dropped Pele's pokeball into her hand, "Why release all of us if we're using this much secrecy? You could have just left us in our balls and it would have saved so much trouble."
"True, but I thought knew you'd all enjoy the freedom to roam not to mention it would have raised some suspicion if I'd kept everyone in their pokeballs," Vali replied with a small grimace, "No one save for Lance knows about this mission. We need to keep it like this,"
Huffing at her, Smaug looked away as Vali released Pele who yawned deeply, "Sister, this is where I need to create the temporary base?"
"Yes," Vali nodded as she reached out to stroke the Camerupt's muzzle earning a low groan of pleasure, "Please and thank you,"
With a small nod, Pele lowered them a couple inches into the ground before creating a large dome with a large air way for them. Reaching into her bag, Vali handed Pele a Tamato berry which earned a low croon of happiness. Taking out her laptop and pokenav, she settled down against Balto's side and quickly began fiddling with everything until a proper call was set up. It took about thirty minutes before everyone began showing up which she expected. Elrond quickly set up a noise canceling barrier around the airway as a precaution. The first to show up was a masked figure wearing a Pikachu mask, "Hey, Empress! I got your message and have already started my work though I'm doubting we're going to find much on Surge outside of the war bullshit."
As a precaution for all of her people's safeties, Vali had each of them wear masks either of their choosing or one she'd chosen. Shaking her head lightly, she told the woman wearing the mask, "I doubt we'll find much either, but considering who's already showing their traitorous side, we can't hold our breath, Pikachu."
"Yeah," A Vulpix mask wearing man grumbled, "I still can't believe Giovanni of all people turned traitor, but it does give us an interesting thing to work on,"
"Not to mention," A woman wearing an Alakazam mask murmured, "We get to exercise our skills to greater affect than normal,"
Murmurs of agreement echoed through the air as more figures appear, the various agents she'd recruited and trained wore their masks with pride. Funnily enough, she had enough agents for each gym leader in both Johto and Kanto leaving herself with the difficult task of rooting out any information on the Elites that might be bad. A man wearing a Scyther mask spoke up, "I know it might be a bit early, but Bugsy is clear."
Eyeing him, Vali frowned a bit, "Why do you say that, Scyther?"
"I've been watching the kid for awhile now even before you recruited me," Scyther explained quickly as murmurs echoed from her other agents, "As you know, I was once a trainer in his gym, but moved on since it was clear I wasn't moving up any time soon. So I know Bugsy, I can keep digging deeper if you really want, but I know the kid and doubt he has anything to do with Rocket,"
Shaking her head, Vali pointed out, "It isn't just Rocket, Scyther. Lance wants any kind of corruption found out. It doesn't matter if it's gambling habits, drinking, chain smoking, or what. Lance needs to know," She heard the mumbling stop and could feel the stares, "We need to know. Any kind of corruption needs to be found out, a few bad habits is okay. I have a couple and I damn well know it. But we need to know this shit."
"This...They're going to blackmail everyone, aren't they?" Scyther asked in a hesitant tone and Vali wondered just what was going on behind those pale green eyes.
Nodding as she looked at each agent with a stern frown, Vali told them, "Yes. We need to know what's going on if only to prevent the Rockets from using it against our Gym Leaders. I'll be working on the Elites. I've already got my pokemon doing their side of the job. Just do yours and hopefully, we'll get through this without any true causalities within the League."
For a long time afterward, Vali spoke with her agents catching up on what they'd been doing and listening to any information they'd been hearing. Thanks to her fiddling around earlier, it was being recorded by her pokenav since she couldn't have Balin write it down for her as he usually did. When the meeting finally ended, she felt just a bit exhausted while slowly shutting her laptop down after ensuring everything had worked properly. Closing her eyes for a moment, she didn't speak when Elrond commented, "Well...That went somewhat better than we could have hoped."
Mutely nodding, Vali stroked Aragorn's head as the Vulpix laid it on her lap. She finally spoke after a long moment of simply resting her eyes, "I agree with Lance about getting drunk off my ass once this is over. I hate suspecting my friends and coworkers. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
Ash's Team:
1. Pidgeotto
Female
2. Pikachu
Male
Gary's Team:
1. Weepinbell
Male
2. Squirtle
Male
Vali's present team:
1. Balto/ Arcanine
Male
2. Smaug/ Charizard
Male
3. Elrond/ Alolan-Raichu
Male
4. Eowyn/ Houndoom
Female
5. Aragorn/ Vulpix-King-Gene
Male
6. Pele/ Camerupt
Female
7. Celina/ Pidgeot
Female
8. Thorin/ Flareon
Male
9. Arwen/ Rapidash
Female
10. Galadrial/ Chandelure
Female
11. Nazgul/ Gengar-Shiny
Male
12. Irmo/ Pyroar
Male
13. Ortho/ Furret
Male
14. Noldor/ Smeargle
Male
15. Terra/ Tyranitar
Female
16. Empress/ Salamence
Female
17. Idril/ Sandslash-Shiny
Female
18. Pippin/ Luxray
Male
19. Bombur/ Dewgong
Male
20. Balrog/ Magmar
Male
21. Khione/ Aurorus
Female
22. Rosie/ Meganium
Female
23. Balin/ Typhlosion
Male
24. Disa/ Jolteon
Female
25. Absol
Male