Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon and Harry Potter
BloodyKitsune1997: Well a lot happened in this chapter, it's also one of the longest I've written since this story started. I want you all to know that I appreciate your support which is partially why I've started a . If you look in my bio, you might find something to help find it if ya maybe want to offer some support. Love ya guys.
Reviews:
Lucky Guard: Could be, it would be interesting.
Jostanos: Hey, Jos! Who knows, you'll have to read. Two Matsuo's, an interesting thought. I look forward to seeing both of them in the future!
OFARiolu: No decision has been made for Ash's specialization. Nor Gary's, a pokemon caught by either of them doesn't define their specialization, it's simply a caught partner for the moment.
Chapter 12
Tying in Blitzle to his team was interesting and Ash quickly realized just how difficult it could be to add another pokemon into his strategies, he had to make entirely new ones to fit his newest pokemon. While she was happy enough to give him some advice, Vali was very quick to point out that he needed to develop things on his own. As off putting as it was, he was actually pretty happy to see that Vali wasn't giving him the easy way out. Pikachu and Pidgeotto were happy to welcome Blitzle to the team with his oldest pokemon taking the equine under her wing readily which eased his mind. Within the first few days of meeting Blitzle and having her on his team, he came to realize a few things about the zebra-like pokemon.
When Blitzle was scared, she tended to shock the area around her and hide behind the nearest thing that felt the safest to her which tended to be him. If she was really excited, she tended to dance around on the tips of her hooves. She loved to send electricity back and forth with Pikachu which he'd learned from Vali was a way for electric-types to communicate without verbalization as well as charge up their internal capacities. Blitzle loved to run and could go for a good hour before actually getting tired. Above all though, Blitzle enjoyed Pecha berries and laying her head against his side when they slept at night.
Battling with Blitzle took a bit of coaxing, the zebra-like pokemon tended to shy away from it at first though definitely showed a bit of interest after seeing Pikachu manage to take down a few trainers pokemon with Pidgeotto sweeping the rest. He eventually managed to coax her into a practice battle against Gary which ended in a lost though Blitzle was ready to go again not long after which made him grin a bit.
Ash spotted Vali sitting on the pokemon center's deck and walked towards her. He spoke while glancing at her team as they milled about, "Vali, what are you doing out here?"
"Just taking some pictures of the night sky," Vali held up one of her camera's and Ash was a bit stunned to see that it looked a bit ratty, "Figured I'd take a bit of time to enjoy the night air,"
Nodding slowly as he took a seat beside her, Ash asked, "What's with that camera? It looks...old?"
"It's actually my first camera," Vali looked at the camera in her hands with a slight smile as her eyes became a bit glazed, "This thing's been through hell and back with me, I almost thought it wouldn't work anymore, but the old boy's still got some life in him,"
"Wow," Ash breathed out as he stared at the red and black camera in slight awe.
"So what brings you out here?" Vali asked as she put down her camera, "Come looking for me?"
Letting out a sheepish laugh, Ash nodded as he leaned back against the deck, "Kinda? Have you ever had a pokemon like Blitzle before? One that was really timid?"
Grinning brightly, Vali nodded warmly, "Yeah. Idril and Terra not to mention the one that left," She saw his surprised look and let out a low chuckle, "Idril being a shiny and growing up as she did before I got her...Yeah," She gained a sad look on her face, "She was a timid little thing though it faded with time and proper care. Terra," She smiled softly, "Well, she grew out of that as you know."
Ash shivered as he thought of that Tyranitar who would happily punch someone in the face if it meant play-time. He nodded lightly, "Yeah."
"As for the one who left," Vali sighed softly as her eyes went distant and a sad smile formed, "Boromir never quite grew out of his timid nature. Despite loathing battle and all it brought, he would fight to protect just as I'd taught him alongside the rest of our pack," A tear ran down her cheek alarming Ash and he was startled when Thorin practically threw himself into Vali's lap though she didn't seem to notice it, "Sweet thing that he was, I never denied him when he'd ask it of me though it'd torn my heart in two to agree," She grasped at her neck as Ash's eyes went to her pokemon and he realized they were completely surrounded by them, "He asked me to release him that day,"
"You...you've released a pokemon?" Ash had never heard of his sister giving up a pokemon.
"Boromir," Vali answered as she pulled out an unpainted Luxury ball that looked as worn as her other pokeballs save for the newest ones and she smiled sadly as her eyes came back into focus as they looked at him with tears slowly rolling down her cheeks, "My sweet Togekiss. My little son who couldn't bare the fighting and wished to find peace,"
A Togekiss? Vali had once raised a Togekiss? Ash couldn't believe it, yet there was the evidence. He felt his throat tighten as his clearly grieving sister was cuddled by her pokemon. Eventually finding his voice, he asked, "W-where did he go?"
"I don't know," Vali shook her head and looked towards the sky as best she could with Balto's head on hers, "He flew off after I'd released him and we promised to meet once more one day," She curled her fingers tighter around the shrunken pokeball, "I...Somedays I sit outside and just pray that he'll be back, Ash. For all that I released him, he was my precious son and brother just as Aragorn is. He is mine just as all my pack are,"
"That's why you said...why you've told us that even after releasing a pokemon they'll always be ours in some way," Ash breathed out earning a slowly nod.
"Our partners, Little brother, will always be just that even if they're far away from us," Vali released the shrunken pokeball and began cuddling her pokemon, "All we can hope if they've been released is that they'll come back to us somehow. In one shape or form,"
Quite settled over them and Ash slowly stood as he realized that this was a moment he's intruding on, he slowly retreated inside the pokemon center. He found Gary and warned him not to bother Vali for the rest of the night. Rather than fully explain the situation, he merely said he'd explain later before heading to their room. Laying down on his bed, he cuddled his pokemon just a bit tighter as the image of Vali's grieving face lingered in his mind.
During one of the training sessions that she was having her pokemon help Ash and Gary train their pokemon in preparation for their coming gym trial, Vali received a message from one of her agents to meet up. Making a few small excuses while leaving behind half her pokemon, she left with Elrond and Aragorn at her side. It took her little time to reach the small karaoke building that they were meant to meet up at. Within moments, she was in a room with a small blue haired woman who normally wore a Geodude mask. As she entered and closed the door behind her, the woman stood and bowed lightly, "The earth shakes among the fires wrath."
"As the fire burns within us," Vali finished with a slight grin, "Alicia, how are you?"
"Well enough," Alicia ran a hand through her short blue hair, "The Captain is ranting about our Dragon lord's cryptic orders. Up the museum's protections without making it look like we're doing that, it's making her so frustrated,"
"There's a good reason for it," Vali promised earning a slight shrug from the red eyed woman.
"Not really something I care too much about since the extra overtime is nice," Alicia grinned earning a laugh from Vali, "Anyway, I'm sorry to pull ya away from the boys. I know you'd rather be spending time with them,"
"It's fine," Vali waved her off, "So what's up?"
"First off, Thorin? Where is that grumpy guss?" Alicia asked with a raised eyebrow as Vali took a seat.
"At the Plateau," Vali grinned brightly as Alicia let out a gasp, "Disa went into labor last night around midnight. I brought him and stayed for a couple hours. I would've stayed longer, but-"
"With everything going on, you have to keep an eye on boys just in case things go sour," Alicia shook her head, "Still, I can't wait to see those beautiful babies when they actually hatch out. Any idea how many there are?"
"As far as we know, we're getting three though with Disa we'll never actually know until they're officially here," Vali snickered softly, "I do know the poor girl is going to be relieved when they're finally out of her. She's been so uncomfortable,"
"Don't I know that feeling," Alicia shook her head, "Anyway, I called to let ya know about the kiddie gym leader," Vali nodded as she leaned back against her seat with Aragorn laying his head in her lap, "He's clean other than rapidly becoming a damn womanizer. The thing I'd be worried about is his parents,"
Frowning at that, Vali gave her a look, "What's wrong?"
"You know how the old man got him the permit and promised that at least one of them would be around to watch over the kid for at least two years?" Alicia asked earning a nod.
"That was half the reason we signed that damn thing," Vali remembered the shit storm that had happened when Flint had come around a year ago and brought it up, "What happened?"
"Fucker disappeared same with his wife. From what I was able to see, the two 'went away on seperate journeys'," Alicia used air quotes on the last part making Vali's eyebrow twitch, "I haven't managed to track down Flint. The wife last I could find is somewhere between Sinnoh and Hoenn. Based on the records, she's trying for a water-type specialist license,"
Rubbing at her face, Vali let out a low groan, "What the actual fuck? First I have to deal with Misty Waterflower appearing out of nowhere setting a while Gyarados on my brothers and now this? What is my luck?"
Aragorn let out a low whine and nosed her stomach without a word. Elrond spoke as he crossed his arms, "The boy, how is he as a Gym Leader? We haven't had any bad reports coming out of Pewter."
"Doing a pretty damn good job despite the hand he's been dealt," Alicia shook her head, "But the kid doesn't want to be a Gym Leader, he wants to be a breeder. I suspect the main reason he's doing it is to take care of his nine other siblings,"
Gapping at Alicia, Vali muttered, "Did they fuck like rabbits or something? What the hell?"
"No idea nor do I rightly care," Alicia shook her head, "What are we going to do, Alpha? We can't leave the kid in this position. He'll eventually break,"
"You're right about that," Vali groaned as she ran a hand through her hair, "I've got to make a few calls. See if someone can track down Flint," She dropped her hand, "What the fuck is going on? First we deal with one corrupt Gym Leader and now we're dealing with someone pulling a runner? The hell?"
Hearing his pokegear going off, Lance answered it as he was watching Diaval and rest of his main team run their lower rung through the paces, "Hello?"
"Lance," Vali sounded a bit stressed, "We've got a situation in Pewter,"
Heart sinking at that, Lance's eyes narrow, "What kind of situation? Did the Rocket's attack earl-"
"No!" Vali interrupted him immediately and Lance breathed a sigh of relief, "No, the Museum is still perfectly fine. None of my pokemon have seen activity and my sources haven't picked out any either,"
Shaking his head, Lance let out a soft laugh, "Almost scared the shit out of me, Princess. So what's up if not the Rockets?"
Hearing Vali let out a groan, Lance's eyebrow rose since that was never a really good sign. She answered with a slight huff, "Flint and his wife skipped town, Lance. According to my sources, Brock's been left on his lonesome for over a year. Flint's in the wind while his wife is somewhere between Sinnoh and Hoenn."
Anger curled through Lance's chest at that, he remembered Flint and Lola promising to keep an eye on their eldest. The two had vowed it, but for them to just jump ship, it pissed him off. Fingers clenching to a fist, he asked, "What the hell happened? How didn't we catch this?"
"Probably for the same reason we didn't catch Giovanni," Vali replied with a soft snort and Lance jolted a bit as he felt a scaly nose rub against his cheek, "With the rising threat of the Rockets, we've been pushing inspections back not to mention a few people likely got bribed not to say shit,"
Looking to see that Diaval had wandered over, he began to rub his partner's head while replying, "Brock has to be doing something right if there hasn't been any reports about it from trainers coming in and out of Pewter. Even if it's the first gym, I doubt everyone would be happy with an 'easy' battle."
"According to what my source found, the kid's clean. He's actually a damn good one though there is something that could turn into something major down the line," Vali told him making Lance's stomach sink.
Running a hand through his hair, Lance sighed, "Lay it on me, Princess. The situation in Pewter can't really get that much worse until we're actively dealing with Rockets after all."
Letting out a huff of amusement, Vali snickered, "Dragon Boy, those are bold words to say around me and you know it," Lance snorted at her, "Kid wants to be a Breeder not a Gym Leader. Flint and Lola pushed him into it from what my source managed to dig up. You know how it'll end up going if we don't figure something out soon."
Pressing a hand to his face and counting to ten, Lance sent a prayer to Mew and Arceus for patience. Of course, he had a gym leader push their own kid into a path that the child didn't want. It happened more often than most would think especially when the Gym was one of the big eight and had a long history like in Pewter. Things tended to spiral and fast when the child reached their breaking point, it just depended on the kid how long that took. He'd seen it happen twice since becoming a Gym Leader though only for the smaller gyms. But now it was happening to one of the Big Eight and that was a problem, he grimaced darkly.
"We need to find Flint and Lola. At least one of them needs to be in Pewter as soon as possible," Lance announced after a few moments, "I want both of them there sooner rather than later, but I'll take one of them. Since they have more children than just Brock, it shouldn't be a problem to figure out which of them would be best suited to become the next Pewter gym leader once the two idiots are back,"
Vali let out a soft laugh, "I figured you'd say that. I already got into contact with Cynthia and Steven about the situation. They're sending out a few ACE teams to get Lola extradited back to Kanto. All they ask is that you pay the bar tab during the next meet up."
"I can definitely do that," Lance snorted at that, "And Flint?"
"ACE Commander Rogers and Lural is already having their people look into where he could possibly be. They'll likely be having their psychics hunt him down within the next few hours," Vali sounded a bit smug which he honestly didn't blame her for, "I expect something from my list, Dragon-boy,"
"Two things if we can get both of them within the next two weeks," Lance replied earning a laugh, "I assume you've already had Balin set up the paperwork for my signature on this?"
"Should be in your office in thirty minutes," Vali confirmed making him snort.
"And people wonder why you're the Elite I tend to count on," Lance shook his head.
"They see my tendency to cause chaos on the battlefield and preference to take pictures. They don't see how quick I am with the behind the scenes shit," Vali snickered softly, "Which reminds me, I can't make that trip to Charicific valley this month. Since one of us has to, you'll need to be the one to do it,"
Blinking a bit, Lance ran through why either of them would be needing to go to Charicific valley before mentally slapping himself. He nodded as Diaval nosed his cheek again, "Right, the thing with Liza. Are you sure about not going? I thought it was something you really wanted to go to."
A sigh left Vali, "Doing that interview with Liza would be amazing especially since I'd get to see all the kids that Smaug had with those wild Charizard. I'd love it, but..." He felt bad as she said the next part, "With us not knowing about whether the Rockets will attack the Museum or Mount Moon, I can't. Hell, they might throw us a curve ball and attack both. I can't risk it. Especially not with an untested Gym Leader like Brock running things here."
"True enough," Lance grimaced a bit, "I feel a bit bad,"
"Don't, I'll head to Charicific valley another time. If anything, it'll make that trip even sweeter since the boys might end up getting a chance to have their own member of the Charmander-line if we do," Vali laughed softly earning a slight grin, "'Sides, you could use an interview like that after bailing on that one about the Power Plant,"
Lance snorted at her, "C'mon, you really can't think that interview was important, Princ-"
"You're a champion, Dragon-boy," Vali retorted and Lance could just see her standing there with a hand on her hip, "Any missed interview can be bad press. I know you didn't like the reporter doing it, but still, you did need to do it,"
"It just-I-" Lance pouted a bit as Vali snickered at him, "You're mean, ya know that. How did you know about me missing that interview anyway? You were in Viridian forest!"
"Yellow does have Wifi and I have my ways around that forest," Vali replied with a snort, "I need to get going. Ash and Gary are going to be wondering where I am. You've got things to take care of on your end,"
"Yeah," Lance shook his head lightly, "See ya later,"
"See ya and give my love to everyone," Vali ended the call after that.
Smiling slightly, Lance put his Pokegear away and looked at Diaval. Reaching out as Diaval tilted his head, he sighed, "What is going on, Dia? I knew becoming a champion was going to be tough. We all knew we'd be getting curve balls, but this? It's driving me insane," A concerned coo left Diaval as the large dragon nosed his hand making his smile grow a bit, "At the very least, we can count of Vali. Which reminds me, we should go check on her pokemon. I know Thorin won't let us anywhere near Disa, but I'm sure the rest would probably like a visit."
Diaval nodded while standing up straight before pointing at their family. Lance understood immediately what his partner wanted, "Right, we need to finish putting those guys through their paces first then pay them a visit."
Diaval let out a low hum before taking off towards their family. Shaking his head slightly, Lance leaned back against the boulder he'd chosen to perch on in their training ground with a slight smile. While he might not be able to understand his family's voices like Vali, they had work arounds though he did admit it would be nice to hear their actual voices every once and awhile.
On the morning of Ash and Gary's gym trials, they both woke early and went to seperate areas of the pokemon center training grounds. Ash settled down with his pokemon and offered them gentle words of encouragement. Gary sat with his pokemon while pumping them up. Both boys had decided that they'd be using their first pokemon and starters, Spearow and Blitzle were too new for the coming Gym battles with the latter being a greater disadvantage than the avian. Taking some time to meditate with his pokemon as well as introduce Blitzle to the training method, Ash spent time refreshing and reworking some basic strategies with Pikachu and Pidgeotto. Working alongside Squirtle and Weepinbell, Gary refreshed their basic strategies while reaffirming the belief that they were ready.
After eating a quick breakfast, they left for the gym with Vali at their side and were quickly set up in their trial matches. Ash found himself up against a rather stocky man dressed as a mountain climber in an outside area. Gary found himself up against a teenage girl wearing hikers clothes in an internal area within the gym. Both boys got ready as the referees announced the trial to begin with Vali taking a seat within a lounge area where the Pewter Cities Gym Leader, Brock, was sitting. The teen gave her a slightly anxious look, "Elite Valkyrie, I-"
"Easy, Brock," Vali waved him off as she settled on one of the couches with Elrond in her lap and Aragorn laying beside her, "I'm on vacation right now, remember?" He slowly nodded and began to relax, "Just call me Vali, I don't see a reason for formality unless we're at a League Event that requires it or there's a mission,"
"Right," Brock let out a low sigh before jolt as Ash sent out Pikachu, "He's seriously using a Pikachu?"
Letting out a laugh, Vali nodded, "Yup. Don't underestimate the power of a chu, Brock. Remember what Red's Pikachu can do? Or Yellow's? Not to mention what Eli here can do."
"Right," Brock shook his head, "Still that Pikachu...It looks a bit...Not saying it's unhealthy, a pokemon that close in contact with you could never be unhealthy. It's just looks small,"
"Admittedly Pikachu's on the small side, he's still a pretty strong Chu," Vali grinned slightly as she took in the Geodude that was released by Ash's opponent, "Just watch, Brock. Ash is the kind of kid who brings out the best in everyone around him especially when they're pokemon,"
"What about Oak?" Brock asked as Gary released Bell onto the field against the Geodude his own opponent had tossed onto the field, "He has a Weepinbell?"
"A partner pokemon," Vali clarified with a slight smile, "There is a reason my brothers have a modified license and cannot catch many pokemon until they beat certain gyms,"
"This...I am about to see two very interesting battles, aren't I?" Brock asked earning a snicker.
"Considering my track record? What do you think?" Vali asked with a raised eyebrow.
Despite knowing that Vali would be watching from somewhere else in the gym, Ash was a bit disappointed that she wasn't right there, but he wasn't about to let that stop him. After all, he'd be letting down Pikachu and Pidgeotto both if he did that. Inwardly shaking himself, he narrowed his eyes at the Geodude before him as Pikachu lowered himself to the ground. The Geodude was younger based on it's lack of mass and less scratched up body. If he had to guess, it hadn't been caught for longer than two months at most which meant they were better off than most in their position. Though he couldn't count their Ducklett's before they hatched, they still needed to get through this battle.
As the referee called out for them to begin, Ash shouted, "Pikachu, Quick Attack into Iron Tail."
As Pikachu started to blur, the Mountain Climber laughed, "Quick on your feet, huh? We're quick too. Geo, Rollout! Keep rolling even if it hits you!"
Blinking a bit, Ash filter what he knew about Rollout into his mind and mentally cursed even as Geodude began to roll towards the silvery blur that was Pikachu. The two collided with Pikachu letting out a cry of shock as he was sent fly. Geodude unsteadily spun around and began aiming for Pikachu prompting him to shout, "Pikachu, I want you to use Quick Attack to dodge him. Use Iron Tail when you've got a chance."
Pikachu nodded to Ash and took off running in a blur of silvery energy as his eyes narrowed in thought. They obviously needed to figure out some way around Geodude's rollout. With each successful attack, it would become more powerful even if Geodude didn't hit Pikachu. But there had to be a way around that, a way to turn Rollout back on Geodude without causing massive amount of damage to Pikachu in the process. He frowned as Geodude kept slamming into the various stone structures much like a demented pinball and slowly speeding up with each jerky turn of it's body. Blinking a bit, he realized with each hit there was an increased delay and Geodude seemed to shake a bit before evening out after a few moments.
The Mountain climber laughed loudly causing Ash's eyes to snap towards him, "This game of cat and mouse can't go on forever, ya know, kid."
"I know," Ash looked at Pikachu as he shouted, "Pikachu! Next time Geodude hit's one of those rocks, I want you to use Iron Tail as hard as you're able to. Really ring it's bell!"
Pikachu let out a cry of agreement and was able to put his request into action during the next few moments. With a loud cry of pain, Geodude actually ended up breaking through the rock and another one. Ash grinned a bit as Pikachu landed on the ground with a harsh pant looking pleased with himself. Geodude slowly rose up after a few moments rather dizzily and began to turn towards Pikachu with a grunt. The Mountain Climber let out a low grumble, "Well, I'll be. Ya managed to stop Geo with that one. Let's see how ya do against his Rock Throw!"
Geodude began gathering up rocks and throwing them in Pikachu's direction with steadily increasing accuracy. Pikachu quickly began dodging them with Quick Attack and steadily getting closer until he managed to strike out with Iron Tail sending Geodude cracking down again. Before Geodude could rise up again, Pikachu slammed down another Iron Tail and sent Geodude flying back into another stone structure which cracked the thing. Geodude tried to rise up for a second before collapsing prompting the Referee to call out, "Geodude is unable to battle, the winner of round one is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. Gym Trainer Liam send out your next pokemon."
"Right," Liam recalled his Geodude and sent out a Sandshrew who squeaked at seeing Pikachu.
"Begin," The referee called out.
"Use Sand Attack, Sandshrew!" Liam shouted earning a squeak of agreement.
"Pikachu send out a wave of electricity now," Ash shouted remembering one of Vali's strategies from awhile back.
Letting out a sound of confusion, Pikachu glanced at him before nodding and releasing a wave of electricity. To his starter's shock, the wave of electricity turned the sand into glass that fell around him in a wide array. Pikachu let out a slight cheer as Liam frowned, "Unexpected, I'll have to keep that in mind for later. Sandshrew, we're heading underground with this one."
"Pikachu, Quick Attack," Ash shouted with narrowed eyes.
Pikachu dove towards Sandshrew, but wasn't quick enough making Ash inwardly curse. Liam let out a soft laugh, "Looks like we've got the advantage, Boyo."
Shaking his head, Ash called out, "Don't count us out. Pikachu," Pikachu glanced at him, "Use your senses to keep an ear out for Sandshrew, I want you to use Iron Tail, Tackle, and whatever else you can think of to beat it back. Don't follow it underground though, we don't want to risk you getting trapped under there."
Pikachu nodded to him and his ears began to twitch rapidly as he began to slowly move around the battlefield. The minutes pass by before Pikachu jumped high into the air just before Sandshrew launched itself out of the ground with glowing paws. As Sandshrew blinked in confusion, Pikachu came down like a hammer on the other mouse-like pokemon with an Iron Tail. There was a loud squeal of shock and Sandshrew went back underground after managing to scratch Pikachu, Pikachu sent Ash a smirk that was returned. This game of Whack-a-Sandshrew continued for a little while longer before Sandshrew flopped to the ground and gave a pleading look to Liam, the mountain climber returned his pokemon with a low sigh.
The Referee called out, "Gym Trainer Liam has returned his pokemon. Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, you may now schedule your match against Gym Leader Brock."
"Thank you," Ash bowed lightly before bending down and holding out his arms, "Pikachu, you did it! All by yourself, I'm so proud, buddy!"
Pikachu stared at him for a moment before grinning and rushing at him with an excited cry. Ash grinned as he hugged his started close and pumped his fist.
Gary smirked at his opponent as he released Bell onto the field earning a small glare from both the Hiker girl and her Geodude partner. The Referee called for them to begin prompting Gary to start off the match, "Bell, Razor Vine. Keep it on the defensive!"
Bell let out a gurgle of agreement and began lashing out with his vines as torrents of razor sharp leaves rushed outward earning a cry of surprise from his opponent. The Geodude was on the older end of what Gary was expecting for someone to use during a first gym badge trial. With how smooth and large the thing was, he doubted it would be long before it evolved. Thankfully though, Bell wasn't a newbie pokemon and had an advantage. Not that they'd count on said advantage, Vali had taught them just how suicidal it would be to rely fully on advantages during battles. Anyone who tried to come at her during a League battle with a team full of water-types expecting an easy fight could tell you just how screwed you were, she rarely had mercy for that type of shit.
Inwardly shaking those thought from his mind, Gary focused as the Hiker shouted, "Geodude, Defense Curl. Use Rollout to dodge!"
Not a bad move, Gary thought as Geodude curled in on itself just before the leaves began to strike it and silvery energy coated it's form briefly before the rock-type began to roll around attempting to dodge Bell's vines. Unfortunately for Geodude, Bell was used to sparring with not only Pikachu, but Vali's various faster paced pokemon which made catching the Rock Pokemon easy enough. Bell tossed Geodude into the air after catching it right into a cloud of various powders that the Weepinbell had created in preparation. As Geodude was coughing and hacking as it tried to get the powders out it's airways, Bell swatted at Geodude with a purple coated vine that was in the beginning stages of becoming a Poison Jab.
Geodude slammed into one of the stone spirals not far from Bell and began to raise itself up with a grunt only to cry out as his partner followed up with another torrent of Razor Leaf. A shudder ran through Geodude's body as purple energy and static curled across it's form. It groaned deeply and shook itself as Gary called out, "Bell, keep it up. We're getting through!"
Bell let out a gurgling cry of agreement and sent his vines towards Geodude who sluggishly tried to move out of the way. The Hiker growled out, "Geodude! Rock Throw, we can't give up now!"
The Geodude dug it's hands into the ground seconds before Bell's vines wrapped around it. With a groaning cry, Geodude was sent into another cloud of powders and Gary watched with a little bit of regret it's eyes looked about unfocused while trying to find Bell. Breathing heavily, Geodude's floating body shuddered in the air and actively crashed against the rocks. While he knew that the Rock Pokemon wouldn't be harmed due to it's biology, he still felt a bit bad for essentially drugging it. When Geodude finally crashed into the ground as it's eyes closed and nothing the Hiker shouted seemed to rouse it, Gary called out, "Looks like your pokemon's in a pretty deep sleep."
"Damn it. I hate Grass-types," The Hiker muttered as she pulled out Geodude's pokeball, "Ref, I'm pulling out Geodude,"
"Right," The Referee nodded and raised a flag towards Gary, "Winner of the first round is Gary Oak of Pallet Town. Gym Trainer Marleen please release your next pokemon,"
After returning her Geodude, Hiker Marleen released a Diglett, "Diglett, you're up!"
"Begin!" The Referee threw his flag down.
Bell immediately threw out a torrent of Razor Leaves and began sending his vines towards Diglett only for the little pokemon to disappear underneath the ground. Pursing his lips at that, Gary called out, "Bell, remember our strategies against Vali's Idril? We need to use them only modify em as we go along, alright, Bud?"
Bell nodded while creating large clouds of powders earning a laugh from Hiker Marleen, "Whatcha doin? Don't you know that won't work, Kid? Diglett's an underground pokemon!"
"I'm well aware," Gary's nose scrunched up at her snide tone and wondered if she got that way with all the people challenging the gym, "Bell, keep it up,"
Bell made a soft sound from within his cloud of powders that kept growing larger and larger as time went on earning a noise of confusion from Marleen. Part of Gary was glad that gym's of all sizes were required to have a psychic on hand for any battle, it made moments like this that much easier. He heard a cry of shock and panicked screech that turned into a choked squeaks that definitely didn't come from his partner. He clenched his fingers into a fist and almost wished he'd been blessed with either Ash or Vali's abilities. Maybe even had a psychic-type on his team, it would have made moments like this just a bit easier to bare.
When the powders began to clear up, Gary breathed a minor sigh of relief at seeing Bell relatively alright though his partner would definitely need a trip to the pokemon center for those torn leaves and bruises. He grinned at seeing Diglett crumbled against the ground unconscious not far away from his partner. A small sound of shock left Hiker Marleen before she returned her Diglett prompting the referee to call out, "Gym Trainer Marleen has recalled her Diglett. Gary Oak of Pallet Town, you may go schedule your gym battle with Gym Leader Brock."
Grinning as he dropped to his knees, Gary held out a hand to Bell and his partner hopped over with a happy gurgle. Carefully hugging him, Gary murmured, "First step to our dream is complete, Bud. Thank you. We'll get ya checked out once that battle is scheduled, but well done. I'm so damn proud of you!"
Bull wrapped his vines around Gary gently and nuzzled into his chest.
Looking away from the monitors as she stood up, Vali grinned lightly as she stretched, "So thoughts, Brock?"
Slightly dumbstruck as he stared at the two celebrating boys, Brock shook his head, "Those two...I expected something of Oak. I mean, he is an Oak. But Ketchum? With a Pikachu of all things..."
"Thing is, Brock," Vali bent down to pet Aragorn's head, "Ash is known for surprising people. While Gary, he's on this journey to show people that he's not just an Oak. He's trying to show the world that he is Gary," She smiled as Aragorn nosed her cheek, "Those two boys, they'll go far even without my help,"
"With those battles...the strategies they used? I can see it," Brock shook his head and looked at her, "What exactly is your end game, Vali? Not to be rude, I've just heard-"
"Rumors, I know," Vali stood up fully and put her hands into the pockets of her favorite hoodie, "People especially politicians like to talk," She snorted softly, "The assholes up top especially," She shook her head, "But I meant what I'd said, I'm on a vacation to help those two boys enjoy their first year journey," She tilted her head at him, "But why ask? What makes you so curious?"
Brock flushed a bit and looked down at his hands, "I'm sure you've noticed it by now if the rumors I've heard are true. About you being Lance's shadow," Vali's eyes narrowed and she mentally promised to have people go looking into those rumors later on, "I...My parents aren't here. They took off a little over a year and a half ago."
"I do," Vali confirmed making Brock's hands clench together and she felt for him, "To put it bluntly, Lance isn't happy. Flint's in deep shit since he was the actual Gym Leader though your mother isn't too far off. Neither of them are in a good position, Brock, they're in big trouble both for leaving you behind during your probationary position without even a single word and for abandoning your younger siblings,"
"I-" Brock's head shot up and he started to speak only to pause as she raised a hand.
"I'm going to level with you mostly due to the fact you're far more mature than most people your age would be in this position," Vali gave him a hard look and Brock swallowed harshly while nodding, "The only reason Lance isn't having someone come in and take over the gym immediately is due to you being competent enough as is, Brock. Hell, no one really noticed until I came into town what had been going on which is going to cause a whole investigation in and of itself since your parents likely bribed people. If you know anything, we'd appreciate the information, alright?"
"I...Yeah," Brock slowly nodded, "Do I...I might have an idea..."
"I'll let Lance know," Vali ran a hand through her hair, "Flint and Lola are being brought back from wherever they are. Flint's in the wind while Lola's easier to find. When this happens, someone will let you know, but Brock, I can't promise that anything good will happen. With Flint abandoning his position and Lola-"
"I know," Brock bowed his head and Vali felt her heart ache, "I..what will happen to the gym? My family? The whole reason I kept this quiet was to keep us together..."
"We know," Vali saw his head shoot up, "We're not angry with you. We're very pissed off at your parents," She took her hands from the pockets of her hoodie and laid a hand on Aragorn's head, "We're going to make sure you're all taken care of since this is very much our fault for not having someone check in to ensure everything was being followed to the letter. But we need full transparency from everyone," She pointed at Brock, "From you to your siblings, we need to know everything that's going on at all times, alright? You've got Lance's number for a reason. It's not just for the meetings, Brock,"
"I-yeah," Brock nodded slowly looking a bit startled and Vali smiled lightly.
"But that's not the only thing," Vali let out a soft laugh, "We might be looking into changing the Gym Leader if you want,"
"C-change t-the G-gym L-leader?" Brock practically squeaked out.
Nodding with a smile, Vali told him, "A little birdie might've told me you would rather be a breeder. It's fine, but we'll need to get another Gym Leader trained up since Flint's going to be on the Black List from now on. If you can point us in the right direction among your siblings-"
"Of course!" Brock nodded rapidly with wide eyes, "I-when-"
"Soon," Vali walked over to him and patted his shoulder, "Just make sure to keep doing your job, alright?"
"I can do that," Brock nodded with a grin slowly blooming across his face.
Smiling lightly, Vali started to leave the room, "See ya later then, Brock."
As Vali began walking through the gym, Elrond spoke as she threaded her fingers together and set her hands behind her head, "That went far more smoothly than it could have."
"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that's because we didn't start that conversation off," Vali glanced at Elrond, "The boys did well. Gary and Bell especially handled themselves well during that last battle,"
"Their clouds technique is reminiscent of Smaug's original Smokescreen," Elrond commented earning a laugh.
"Which makes things interesting if they manage to get a member of the Larvesta-line," Vali grinned earning a snort, "Almost makes me want to reach out to Green,"
"Knowing the Thief? She'll make plans for it the moment she sees the recording of his battle when they hit his trainer page," Elrond rolled his eyes as Vali snickered, "You're going to encourage her, aren't you?"
"But of course, the chance to cause chaos on the battlefield through my little brothers is always something I'll jump at especially when it involves a fire-type!" Vali cackled with a grin as Aragorn and Elrond shared a look of long suffering.
As Vali stepped into the gym lobby and found her brother setting up their actual gym battles, she pulled them both into a hug though made sure to take care not to jostle Pikachu too much. Ash let out a laugh as he hugged her back, "Did ya see, Vali? We won!"
"I saw both of ya," Vali grinned at them, "Nicely done, I think that deserves a trip to my favorite ice cream place in Kanto,"
Eyes widening as she released them, Gary and Ash shared a look before crying out in unison, "We're going to Moo Town?!"
"Arceus Yes!" Vali grinned at them.
Steven blinked as his pokenav went off and began to reach for it seconds before the device began to chime rapidly. Answering it, he winced at the volume Cynthia used as she whined, "STEVEN! Vali's being mean to me!"
Slightly confused at that as he took his pokenav away from his ear, Steven checked the picture Vali had sent him and chuckled at the sight of her holding a towering cone of ice cream with her brothers doing the same. In the backgrounds, every single pokemon currently with the group was happily diving into a bowl of frozen treats looking as if they were in heaven. Hearing Cynthia whine at him, he shook his head, "I don't think she-"
"She's being mean to me," Cynthia affirmed and Steven choked a bit at the fact his fellow level headed champion was actively whining, "Eating ice cream without me like that! I don't care if it's with her brothers! She's being so mean!"
"I'm sure she'd share with you, but you're in Sinnoh," Steven reminded her.
Glancing at Metagross, Steven saw his partner shrug as the blonde continued to whine for another moment for a faint dig sounded. There was a rustle before Cynthia suddenly let out a soft whoop, she giggled softly, "Oh, I knew she loved me and was only teasing."
"What did she do?" Steven wondered aloud.
"Sent me a gift card to my favorite ice cream place alongside a very nice message that I won't be sharing," Cynthia let out a soft sound that made Steven's cheeks flush a bit, "Oh, I can't wait to see her again in person. If you'll excuse me, Steven. I have a date with some very, very, very nice ice cream,"
Without waiting for a reply, Cynthia ended the call and Steven pressed a hand to his face. He jolted when his pokenav rung again, but quickly answered it, "Hello?"
"Steven," Vali sounded more than a little amused, "Did Thia call you?"
"How did you know?" Steven asked earning a soft laugh.
"She didn't call me and she's not that close to any of the other champions besides Lance," Vali answered and Steven could see the grin she was currently wearing, "And since I doubt she'd be whining to Lance..."
"She'd call me," Steven pinched the bridge of his nose for a second before blinking a bit as what she'd said actually registered, "How did you-"
"Steven, It's Thia," Vali said as if that summed up everything and she continued when he only stayed silent, "Ice cream to her is what my very expensive brand of hot chocolate I've almost murdered Lance over is to me,"
Understanding now, Steven let out a soft laugh, "Gotcha. Though why call me?"
"I'd called Delia right after sending those photos, so you were really the only person she could bug other than her people," Vali let out a sheepish giggle, "And considering the fact most of them aren't that sympathetic, she wanted to speak with someone that would be,"
"I see," Steven shook his head, "It was a bit startling though did you really get her a gift card?"
"I did," Vali admitted, "It's part of a multi-level gift for the anniversary of our friendship,"
"Oh right, you two became friends around this time of year..." Steven grimaced as he remembered Vali's sixteenth birthday disaster.
As if she hadn't noticed his pause, Vali continued to speak, "The gifts are really spread out, My dearest Diamond," He let out a noise of surprise earning a laugh, "I might be scatter brained in some ways, but not when it comes to gifts for everyone. Which reminds me, you might want to open the door in three, two," Metagross opened the door revealing messenger carrying a rather large box, "One. I take it my package arrived?"
"Yes," Steven blinked a bit and gestured for the man to set it down on his desk, "What did you get me?"
"Open it," Vali told him with a grin clear in her voice, "And tell me you love me,"
Heart beating a bit faster at her saying the very words he'd longed to tell her, Steven waved the man away and began opening the box. At seeing the rather large case within, he chuckled a bit and began to open that as well, "A case? I-" He breathed out sharply as the case opened to reveal three perfectly polished mega stones and a single pokeball, "V-vali?"
"In order," Vali's voice was warm and soft, "Aggronite, Mawilite, and Scizorite to go with your Metagrossite. Before you say anything, the pokeball holds a Scyther that I found a couple months back during one of my missions. She wishes to serve under someone who is noble and holds strong values that will allow her to become their knight. She wishes to become the peak of Scizor kind,"
"Vali..." Steven's fingers trembled as his hands touched the mega stones he'd never been able to actually find, "I-"
"Happy early birthday, Diamond," Vali murmured softly, "Do you love my gift?"
"I...yes, I love it," Steven ached to say so many other things, "I-thank you. How-"
"Ask no questions and I will tell no lies," Vali cut him off with a soft laugh, "Now, I need to ensure the boys don't get brain freeze not to mention eat some more ice cream. Meet your newest partner, Steven. She's great! I trained her a bit before sending that off,"
"I-yeah," Steven shook his head slightly as he slipped back into his chair, "Talk to you later?"
"Always," Vali ended the call.
As Steven's pokenav slipped from his numbing fingers, Steven couldn't bring himself to care as he stared at the case before him. He jolted as Metagross spoke, "Master, perhaps it's time to move away from your original agreement with the dragon. After all, Flame-Tamer clearly holds love for you...for us, if she gifts us like this."
Tongue feeling as if it was a leadened weight, Steven turned his head towards Metagross as he stumbled over the words, "I...Meta...What if..."
"What ifs are for the Seers of Clay's kind and the Natu, Master," Metagross clunked it's way to Steven's side and he let out a low sigh as his partner radiated out a slight chill that eased away some of the tension in his body, "The Hive enjoys her presence. The pack of hers might hold some annoyances, but we enjoy the challenges they bring with them. Tell her and be done with waiting,"
Smiling slightly, Steven slowly reached out to his partner as he said, "I...In time, I will. It's not a conversation to have over the phone. It's an in person one, Meta."
Metagross made a sound that was remarkably close to a snort, "Humans..."
Ash's Team:
1. Pidgeotto
Female
2. Pikachu
Male
3. Blitzle
Female
Gary's Team:
1. Weepinbell
Male
2. Squirtle
Male
3. Spearow
Female
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
26. Noibat
Male
