Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon and Harry Potter

BloodyKitsune1997: So I took a bit longer with this chapter, I had my reasons and hey, it's basically a christmas present at this point. But that reminds me, I do have to come up with a christmas one-shot...Hmm...Well maybe a new years one.

Reviews:

Jostanos: I have yet to figure out a name for her yet.

Chapter 30

There was an unease thrumming through her veins as they wandered along the patch of forest not far from the plains, Vali's inner flame was shifting uneasily beneath her skin. She wondered if it had anything to do with Suicune's warning, but Entei was still at the edge of her sense though each day brought the fire dog closer. Her fingers twitched around the edge of her bag, she glanced about the forest as her inner Arcanine started to pace beneath her skin. Lips peeling back as she noticed Thorin, Aragorn, and Eowyn all looking around themselves in subtle unease. Tapping her mental connection with Elrond, she spoke softly, "Eli, is it just us or do you sense what's going on as well?"

Jolting against her shoulder, Elrond offered Vali a mental frown, "Now that you mention it, yes. I don't-" He paused and she felt his psychic energy waft over her, "Only our fire-type pack members feel-"

Both of them mentally froze at the realization of what was going on, Vali uttered a soft curse under her breath. Aragorn pinned her with a look alongside Eowyn as she stopped walking causing the rest of the group to falter. As confused murmurs filled the air, she spoke softly, "Wyn, Ara, search!"

With twin barks, the two darted off into the brush. Vali tapped Balto's pokeball and he released himself as Ash asked, "Vali, what's going on?"

"There's a fire-type in trouble somewhere nearby," Vali answered as Balto shook himself off silently and peered at her with a serious expression, "Balto, go,"

With a low bark, Balto shot off in the opposite direction from Eowyn and Aragorn. Releasing Smaug, Vali didn't have to say anything as he shot off into the sky in another direction to ensure all their bases were covered. The rest of her pokemon would wait until they found whatever fire-type had set off their internal alarms. Brock spoke as Vali began to mentally calculate her supplies, "Wait, how do you know it's a fire-type?"

Clicking her tongue, Vali glanced back at Brock as she realized the boy probably hadn't been let in on certain secrets which was fairly shitty though that meant it was her job to finally bring him in on everything. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she really couldn't hide anything from him especially if the pokemon in question was about to die. She started walking as Thorin pressed into her leg acting as a ground because they didn't need a Hisuian Arcanine running amok right now, "Because I have certain abilities much like a psychic, Brock. I won't go into everything right now because there's a pokemon in danger, but let's just say my mastery of fire-type pokemon has never really been a question."

Before Brock could try demanding any answers, a howl and roar rang up from where the leaders of her pokemon had darted off to. Picking up the pace, Vali rushed off the path counting on Elrond to ensure the wild pokemon wouldn't try to become aggressive over the intrusion. Part of her didn't care that the sounds of her brothers and Brock faded, she knew they would catch up eventually. Skidding to a stop as they reached a large clearing, she felt her blood begin to boil at the realization of what her pack had found. Even without her training, a child would be able to tell the Charmander currently curled up in a ball on that boulder was malnourished. Scars dotted what was likely flaky skin, the pittiful tail flame was smaller than any she'd seen outside of the sick babies that rarely ever survived infancy. Pale almost white scales covered the Charmander's body, the tiny thing was barely breathing.

Clamping down on her emotions as they wouldn't do any good in this situation, Vali pulled her bag off of her back and began taking out her emergency kit. Using her magic, she gently levitated the barely conscious thing up from the boulder and into Smaug's waiting arms as the Charizard practically wore a trench into the area beneath the boulder. There was a low rumbling purr emanating from his chest, Smaug breathed out a gentle flame on the Charmander that was normally reserved for members of his bloodline-the younglings bore from his mates and his children's own hatchlings. As she opened her emergency kit, Elrond scanned the poor things memories to give them a better idea of what was going on and her other pokemon gathered around the clearing as they released themselves.

With her magic, Vali managed to figure out how much the poor thing's body could take and filled a bottle with specialized formula. Her inner flame ensured she wouldn't be burned by Smaug, he directed his flames away from the Charmander's head and they coaxed the poor thing into drinking the bottle. There was a heavy rumble from the side that died down, she realized it was Ash and the others arriving as horrified gasps erupted. Ignoring them, she continued her work to stabilize the poor thing which was incredibly difficult due to the piss-poor state the tiny one had been left in. Only when Ash spoke did she bother to pay them much attention, he spoke softly from not far away from her ring of protective partners, "I-Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know," Vali wasn't going to lie even if part of her loathed seeing yet another piece of Ash's innocence being destroyed, "His inner flame is barely an ember at this point even with Smaug stoking it. Right now, I'm trying to stabilize him," She carefully rubbed the lotion that she'd created with Surge's assistance for instances like this across the Charmander's scales, "Once I do that, we'll take him to the nearby pokemon center. I'll scan him and see just who his trainer is/was,"

"What do you mean trainer?" Gary asked as Vali fought back her instinctive urge to scowl, "W-why would someone abandon a pokemon now of all times? Knowing the risks?"

"Because they think they're capable of cheating the system," Brock answered for Vali and she was thankful for that.

"Unlucky for them and lucky for this little guy, any pokemon bred within Kanto and Johto have a specific chip implanted into them before they're given out," Vali reached into her kit and tugged out the blanket in there, "It keeps track of anyone who purchases or trades them. If that pokemon is ever released, the chip will is dissolved via a special solution," She with Elrond's help wrapped Charmander up in the blanket though allowed Smaug to hold the little thing against his chest, "Though certain species will always have an active chip, the Charizard-line specifically will for certain reasons,"

"Oh..." Gary muttered softly.

"Now," Vali closed up her kit after ensuring everything was put away well enough there wouldn't be any spills, "I'm going to go ahead with Smaug and the Charmander. Aragorn, Eowyn, you're on duty to ensure these three don't get hurt trying to find the center,"

While the duo looked like they wanted to argue, Eowyn and Aragorn nodded as Vali returned everyone save for Smaug and Elrond. Carefully climbing onto Smaug's back, Vali took the Charmander from Elrond and they were off. There was a low rumble in the distance, she grimaced at the sight of clouds forming and adjusted her jacket to better cover the bundle of blankets that held the Charmander.

There was a hollow ache in his chest, Ash couldn't shake the sight of that little white Charmander that had been in Smaug's arms. There was barely an embers worth of a flame on that little thing's tail, he inwardly shivered at the thought of what could have happened if Vali hadn't of found it sooner. He clenched his fingers in a tight fist as the memory of those dark marks scattered across Charmander's skin ran through his mind. Just what kind of person would do that to a Charmander? To any kind of pokemon? Had they been a Rocket?

Urgency lit itself inside of him as they spotted the pokemon center, Ash rushed through the doors alongside Gary and Brock. The Nurse Joy on duty looked at them with a tired smile, "Welcome to Route Six Pokemon Center, how can I help you?"

"We need two rooms," Brock started speaking before Ash could even open his mouth, "And our pokemon need to be seen to as well,"

"Of course," Nurse Joy nodded and began typing on her computer as a Chansey appeared pushing out an empty tray laden cart, "Let me grab a few trays for your pokeballs, I'll need your pokedexs. Are you staying just for the night?"

"It depends on our traveling companion," Brock answered earning a look of confusion and he leaned forward with a grim expression on his face, "Earlier on, you likely had a certain Elite bring in a critical case. She's our companion. These two boys with me are her younger brothers,"

Eyes widening, Nurse Joy suddenly shook her head with a sad expression on her face, "Miss Vali already took care of setting things up-well, her Alolan Raichu did. If you'll place your pokeballs down, I'll hand over your room keys."

Doing as Nurse Joy asked, Ash extended his arm to let Pikachu jump on the tray earning a faint look of amusement from Nurse Joy. He spoke softly, "Nurse Joy-I-My sister-"

"She asks that you simply go about as normal and she'll find you once things have settled down," Nurse Joy set the trays on an empty cart before taking out two keys, "Though," She seemed to hesitate for a moment, "The pokemon she brought in was in dire condition and is likely to be taken to a specialist very soon,"

His heart ached at those words, Ash knew pokemon who had to see a specialist rarely survived. Eyes burning as his throat tightened, he bowed his head with a whisper of, "Thank you."

"So there is little you can do at the current moment?" Riley asked her with a frown on his face.

"Not with the coming storm," Vali's head dropped back against Balto's side though she glanced towards where Smaug had practically curled himself around the little Charmander's bed with his nose pressed against the incubator where the poor thing was resting, "Even then, we'd still risk burning the nearby forest down. If I could risk it, I'd take the little thing to Master, but..."

"The old bastard is very particular about those he saves even among the young," Riley sighed heavily as he leaned back against a boulder, "Charcific?"

"And risk the little one being ripped to shred before we even reach the area where I can get the help we need?" Vali shook her head while dropping a hand on Balto's side with a tired sigh, "While I'd love to challenge those fight loving bastards, I won't do it with a wounded little one in tow..." She felt a heaviness in her chest, "Fucking hell, Riley, I feel so useless,"

"I know, V. I wish I could head that way, but I'd never make it in time," Riley's frown softened along with his voice as concern flickered through those blue eyes, "Is that little one really one of Smaug's kin?"

Nodding as a low growl echoed from Smaug's chest, the Charizard curled even tighter around the incubator as Vali's eyes stung. Her voice was soft as she spoke, the pain radiating from her chest an echo carried by her partners, "Apparently one born after his most recent trip to the valley that we weren't told of, I've already informed Liza and she's clamping down on the breeders as he isn't the first little one to have slipped through. Though of the apparent seven found so far, he is the only one that ended up in this condition," She rubbed at her stinging eyes as Balto let out a whine, "The Jenny's are already searching for his former trainer. I-fuck..."

Her voice cracked and she couldn't stop the sob that left her lips, Vali's dug her fingers into Balto's side as he curled tighter around her. Thorin and a newly arrived Aragorn quickly pressed into her as she broke down unable to keep it together. Elrond grasped her pokenav as it started to fall from her numbing fingers and he set it to the side as she sobbed into Aragorn's fur.

"Ash!" The shout jolted Ash from his thoughts as he blankly stared at the tv in front of him.

Twisting around at the familiar voice, Ash's eyes widened as he caught sight of Sirius walking through the Pokemon Center's lobby. Almost throwing himself over the back of the couch, he darted for his second father only to falter as he noticed Surge standing not far from the Grim Animagus as confusion reared its head for a brief moment. Before he could falter for too long, Regulus launched himself at him and he was on the ground practically drowning in slobber. Laughter was dragged from his chest almost reluctantly and he tried to push the hellish-hound off after being stunned for a further moment, Sirius let out a bark of laughter as he cried out, "Reggie! C'mon, you need to stop!"

With a grunt, Sirius finally pulled Regulus off as the Houndoom panted happily and wagged his tail. Starting to push himself up, Ash paused when a hand entered his line of sight before taking it as he saw Surge's faint smile. Pulled to his feet by the large blonde, he was given a once over before Surge frowned, "You seen Vali since arriving?"

His stomach twisted at the reminder that Vali had been absent during the last few hours since they'd finally arrived at the center, it only made the realization of the Charmander's situation worsen in his eyes. Swallowing heavily, he shook his head unable to trust his voice. With a shared look and matching frowns, Surge's fingers tightened on his arm for a brief moment before he was released. Hand dropping onto his shoulder, Sirius spoke as Surge made a beeline for Nurse Joy, "We're going to go find her and find out what's going on, alright?"

"It's-" Ash swallowed against the lump in his throat, "It isn't good, is it?"

Eyes turning sad, Sirius sighed heavily and shook his head, "It's not looking good, Ash. What updates we've gotten...they're not good. I..." Sirius hesitated and glanced toward Surge's back for a moment before he looked back at Ash, "I'm only going to say this because Vali's not going to be in a good place and she might need to take a break from traveling for a bit because of it," He sucked in a harsh breath at those words as nothing ever fazed his sister enough to force her to stop moving, "That Charmander, it's one of Smaug's kids. One that somehow slipped through the cracks. She's...Vali's not doing good, Kiddo. If that little thing dies because of this, she's not going to be in a good place at all."

Horror ate at him, Ash wanted to sink to his knees as the information sank in. Every single baby her pokemon had was important to Vali, she loved them as if they were her own kids. So for something like this to happen to one of them, it was the unthinkable. Those immense feelings of grief he'd been feeling radiating from deeper inside the pokemon center, they were coming from Vali. There was a torrent of emotions underneath the grief, the self-loathing he could feel hurt in ways he couldn't describe and the fact it came from his own sister only made things worse.

His voice was a hoarse whisper, Ash looked at Sirius as he murmured, "W-what's going to happen?"

"We're doing everything we can, Ash, but..." Sirius's fingers tightened as he looked back at Surge who was speaking in low tones with Nurse Joy, "It isn't looking good. Not even the more mythical options that can be taken because Vali's here are looking viable..."

So there was a very real chance that the Charmander was going to die and Vali would have to sit there unable to do anything, Ash's heartached as he realized where her sense of self-loathing came from. He swallowed heavily while asking, "K-keep me informed, please. I-if she can't travel with us, we need to know, Siri."

"I will, Ash," Sirius promised him.

"C'mon, Black," Surge's voice was grim as he called out to Sirius and a glance showed that the Gym Leader looked ready to tear something to pieces, "We're heading in,"

With a final squeeze of his shoulder, Sirius released Ash and walked with Surge through the twin doors leading into the Pokemon Center's emergency Department. His fingers clenched into fists as he felt a sense of despair fall over him, he moved towards the stairs and up to the room he was sharing with Gary. Though his thoughts weren't on getting rest, a memory stirred within his mind. Of his younger days when Riley had come to Kanto, he felt a grim determination seep through his veins as a plan slowly formed.

There was a grim realization that they could only do small stop gap methods to keep the Charmander alive, Vali's head was on her knees and everything felt numb as she stared at the tiny form that was barely breathing not far from her. She barely stirred when the door open and only registered that someone was speaking when Sirius dropped to the ground in front of her. His hands were warm, she was started to realize that her skin felt cold compared to his. Swallowing as she shook her head, she offered him a weak smile as more tears burned at her eyes.

Voice soft as he reached up to cup her wet cheek, Sirius spoke softly, "Hey, Pup."

"Siri," Vali's voice was hoarse from the crying she'd done, "I-we won't be able to save him-"

"Pup, you don't know that," Sirius tightened his grip on her hands, "We're still trying-"

Shaking her head rapidly as more tears fell, Vali sniffed as she murmured, "His inner fire is faltering, Siri. I can feel it," She just about sobbed and wanted to go back to being numb as the raw, painful, feelings started to kick back in, "Everything just a stop-gap at this point..."

Her words trailed off with a choked sob, the lump in Vali's throat made it almost impossible to breath. It had been bad knowing that the fire-type was a baby, but one of her pack's kin made things so much worse. Her heart felt as if it were being ripped to shreds, she wanted to pull it from her chest and throw it across the room if only to make it stop. The fact all she could do to help was let her inner flame press against the little ember that still barely flickering hurt like hell. Everything in her wanted to throw up, she wanted to curl up in a corner or go racing through the rains to find whoever had done this to the little one and tear them apart. Sirius's fingers tightened on her hands a moment before she was tugged into his chest. Warm arms wrapped around her, he began murmuring soothingly in her ear, "I've gotcha, Pup. You're not alone now. I've gotcha."

Slumping into Sirius as she let the more inhuman whimpers and whines leave her lips for the first time since the realization of Charmander's fate hit her, Vali's tears fell like warm rivers as she sobbed into his chest. Her form barely stable, the Hisuian Arcanine within her howled with grief and rage.

There was no moon overhead, the stormy skies blotted out any sign of the celestial giant though for the moment Ash did actually want to see it. He strode on silent feet through the slumbering Pokemon Center being sure to stick to the shadows like a thief in the night. His steps brought him to the Emergency wing of the pokemon center where the lights still shown bright even though everyone had long since gone to sleep, he passed by the slumbering guard pokemon that didn't even stirr as he walked passed. As he made his way around the corner and into the area where the grief he'd been feeling since they'd arrived was the strongest, he found Surge and Sirius walking out of the room he sought.

Running a heavy hand through his blonde hair, Surge groaned under his breath as Sirius closed the door behind them. The two wore expressions of exhaustion as they began making their way down the hallway and Ash quickly hid in an empty room off to the side before they could notice him. Pressing his back to the wall, he strained to listen as Sirius's voice sounded, "...Exhausted, they're all fucking exhausted at this point. And it's only going to get worse."

"Because they're going to fight for that little thing," Surge sighed heavily as their steps came to a stop beside the room where he was settled, "But the brat isn't wrong, Black. Everything they're doing on top of Joy's work is just a stop-gap measure, I don't want to think about how that little fucking thing got into that state, but...if something isn't done soon to change things around..."

There was a low sound from Sirius as Ash covered his mouth, he felt a bolt of dread rush through him. Sirius spoke with a heaviness to his voice, "I don't know how much more she's going to be able to take, Surge. Between everything going on with the Rockets and now this...Plus the thing with Lance? You heard her..."

"I know, Black," Surge's voice didn't hold the bite it usually did when he spoke that way to Sirius and Ash felt a lump form in his throat, "I know...I'm going to talk with Blaine...see if we can figure out a way to get that Charmander to Cinnabar on short notice without risking it's life further. Try to find something on your end, I-" A meaty thud echoed through the air and he knew Surge had hit the wall, "Call Delia and tell her what's going on somehow without worrying her, you know how your wife gets when we don't tell her what's going on. I'll...I'll handle the dragon-kid and see if he can't spread the news to the other two champions,"

"Right," Sirius replied before the sound of their footsteps started up again.

Staying in his place for a long while as the realization of how bad things were settled in, Ash swallowed heavily as tears slid down his cheeks. Vali wasn't doing good at all and she'd been hiding things from them for a long time. How hadn't he noticed? With his ability, he should have though Vali had been able to hide things from him before. Shaking his head, he carefully checked before making his way to the room. Pulling open the door, he noticed that everyone was asleep save for Thorin and Aragorn. The two eyed him tiredly though don't move from their places beside Vali's passed out form. Wincing as he took in his sister pale form curled up against Balto's side, he realized just how worn out she looked.

Taking a deep breath as he reminded himself of the reason he'd come here, Ash turned towards the incubator that was set up in the room's center and made his way towards it. Carefully stepping around the various pokemon that were settled around the room, he climbed onto the chair that was beside the incubator and wasn't being almost crushed by Smaug. Starting to pull open the incubator, he froze as a low sound came from beside him and turned his head to find Smaug staring at him with tired eyes. Swallowing heavily, he spoke softly, "Smaug, I found a way that I can help. Riley talked to me about it and I want to try using it on your kid. Please...for Vali's sake and the little ones."

Eyes burning into his soul, Smaug stared at him as those reptilian pupils shrank and expanded for a long moment before the Charizard nodded with a low snort. Settling his head on top of the incubator, Smaug stared at him in an impatient way that almost made Ash want to laugh. Taking a deep breath, Ash reached in and almost flinched at how cold the Charmander felt to the touch. Steeling himself, he took another deep breath and focused on his aura...

"Ash, this is a surprise," Riley peered at him through the poketch curiously.

Rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to act as if the world was crashing down around him, Ash smiled sheepishly, "I know, Riley. I just-" He settled back against his pillows, "It's been pretty busy otherwise I would have called you sooner. And with Dad sending me a phone, I should have."

Riley let out a soft laugh and shook his head, "It's fine, Kid. So, what's up?"

Smile widening as he tried to keep his relief from showing, Ash began petting Electrike's back, "Well, I've been working with Vali to keep up with the lessons you gave me and we visited Sabrina while in Saffron," He tried to keep the talk as normal as possible, "Which really helped with my meditation, I'm feeling a lot better about how things flow and it's becoming easier to slip into my aura."

"Good," Riley smiled at Ash, "Which means we can move onto higher level techniques once we finally meet,"

"Well that's why I'm calling," Ash saw Riley frown at him, "I had a dream a few days ago and it reminded me of a higher level technique that I'd really love to learn sooner rather than later," Riley's frown grew, "Well, it was more of a memory actually. Remember during your trip to Kanto and we encountered those Mankey? You healed-"

"Ash," Riley cut him off with a sternness that made Ash sit up with wide eyes, "That technique isn't something I'm teaching you any time soon," Ash frowned at him, "It isn't healing. While it may look like I was healing the Mankey, I was actually exchanging aura with it. Unless you have near perfect aura control, you'll likely drain yourself dry in the attempt,"

"But-" Ash tried to protest and shook his head.

"Not buts," Riley's eyes were a bit cold, "There is a reason very few Aura users exist, Ash. It isn't just because we were hunted down," Ash felt a chill run down his spine, "Do not attempt to 'heal' anyone until I've had a chance to actually teach you properly. Promise me,"

There was a heaviness in his chest as he spoke, the lie felt like the most bitter chesto berry Ash had ever eaten, "I promise."

"I'm sorry, Riley," Ash murmured as his aura began to flow into the Charmander in the way he vaguely remembered Riley using with the Mankey.

Beneath his aura, Ash felt a small ember of aura that flickered like a candle in the wind. Gently coaxing in a way that reminded him of when he'd first met Blitzle and began helping her learn to battle, he began threading his aura together with the ember that was dying. There was reluctance in it, a silent wish to go out that was only being held off by a draconian desire and the inante fire-type pride to keep going. Latching onto those, he began bolstering them while carefully threading in reasons to live. Flickers of the Charmanders memories hit his mind, the brief memories of the one who'd done this to the little thing hurt him.

Being born a runt, Mama loving him anyone and protecting him until the cruel human stole him away.

The Boy acting so proud to get his hands on him until he realized how small the attacks he produced were.

Starving, the days without food as he struggled to keep up with pokemon far older than him.

Battles, he felt so broken after each one as the Boy glared down at him for losing.

More days without food, the pain of claws tearing at his flesh for being too weak to win a single battle.

Sunlight blaring down on him, the broken remains of that pokeball being ground into dust before his eyes as the Boy walked away.

His body laying on that boulder as days pass, the sun scorching his already weakened scales and the rain making it hard to even raise his head. Pity was taken on him by a passing group of Swablu, they covered his tail until the storm passed before leaving.

More harsh sunlight and he found it too hard to even bring up the energy to eat the few berries that were brought to him by passing bird-types, he could barely raise his head.

All he wanted was his Mama, he wanted to go back to the warm den they'd shared.

Mama...why couldn't he be with her...

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he slowly coaxed the Charmander's aura, Ash began offering his own memories to the little one who had suffered far too much in his short life. Curiosity slowly flickered through the ember, he felt himself slump against the incubator as strength began to find its way to aura that had been struggling. Smile slowly forming as he felt a desire to live flicker to life and the ember of aura begin to blaze, he dropped his head against the warm glass. Breath coming out slowly, he sluggishly began untwining his aura with the Charmander's and let his hand fall away from the warm scales. There was a warm hand touching his face, he struggled to open his eyes and barely managed it as he heard Vali's panicked voice, "Ash?!"

"H-hey, Sis," Ash slurred the words as he realized the world was spinning.

"W-what did you do?" Vali shook him slightly with wide eyes.

"I-Wha-" Ash shook his head while struggling to focus on her words, "I just...The Charmander," He looked at the Charmander and smiled at seeing how large the tail flame had become, "Much better..."

There was a low sound from Vali as she released his shoulder, Ash slumped back against the incubator unable to hold himself up. His tired mind slowly came to the realization that something was very wrong when that happened, he blinked slowly as Vali pressed a hand to her pale face. She murmured something under her breath before addressing him, "I'm going to go find some help. Stay here, Ash."

Before he could say anything, Vali was already out of the room. Ash's vision was beginning to go dark as he murmured, "I...don't...f-feel very...good..."

Perhaps Riley had been right to tell him that he shouldn't be trying to 'heal' others with his aura, Ash belatedly mused while his world became engulfed in darkness.

Her head was burrowed in between her knees, Vali felt as if the world was trying to swallow her whole. She could barely breathe right now because even if Charmander was going to be okay, Ash was fighting for his life in the ICU now. Fingers digging into her hair, she just wanted it all to stop. Her thoughts swirled to a stop when a hand began tugging hers from her head, she looked up to see Lance crouching in front of her chair with concern clear on his face. Speaking softly as he held one of her hands in his, his voice was gentle, "Sirius was just telling us what happened. You know it's not your fault right?"

"But it is-" Vali began to protest with a shake of her head.

"It isn't," Lance denied as his thumb began running soothing circles along the back of her hand, "According to Riley, Ash had called him hours before any of this happened to get information. From what anyone can figure out, the kid was looking for a way to help Charmander,"

Eyes widening at that, Vali rubbed at her eyes, "But why would-" She shook her head and snorted softly, "It's Ash...he loves pokemon and would do anything to ensure they're alright."

"But Sirius has a feeling Ash overheard him talking with Surge," Lance added earning a frown from Vali, "Sirius believes that their talk urged Ash into doing it,"

Shaking her head in disbelief, Vali looked at Lance as she struggled to figure out what the two could have been talking about, "What on earth could they have possibly been talking about?"

There was a long moment before Lance spoke again, the redhead's gaze was contemplative and his lips were pulled into a thin line. When he finally spoke again, he spoke softly, "Vali...you've been under an immense amount of stress as of late. Both because of the Rockets and what happened with me," She nodded slowly and felt a small amount of dread seep in as she realized where this might be going, "But it goes beyond that too, it doesn't take a genius to realize that you've never had a peaceful moment within the Elite Four."

Opening her mouth almost automatically to deny it, Vali realized she couldn't. Not when Ash was in the ICU and she felt so damn tired from the emotional rollercoaster she'd had to deal with, she slumped back against her seat. Voice far more tired than she could ever remember it, she spoke with a heaviness that had Lance's eyes widening, "Yeah..." She looked at Lance for a long moment before admitting, "I am in talks with Charles," Lance gave her a confused look that held a small hint of betrayal, "I will be resigning from the League once the Rockets are dealt with, Lance. But not to join the Commision, I..." She sucked in a deep breath, "I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm too tired to be apart of either of them..."

"Vali..." Lance trailed off.

Shaking her head as she tugged her hand away from him, Vali looked at the doors that hadn't opened in over an hours, "I'm tired, Lance. I've been so fucking tired for years without realizing it," She sniffed and rubbed at her eyes as they burned again, "Don't try to stop-"

Arms wrapped around her neck, Vali stiffened for a moment before sinking into the hug Lance gave her. Voice soft as he held her against his chest, Lance shifted them until he was sitting with her in his lap, "I won't. Even if I'm sad to see you go, I won't stop you, Vali. I could never stop you from doing anything."

Wet laugh leaving her, Vali reminded him, "You stopped me from doing that one photoshoot with Karen and Lorelai a year ago."

"In my defense, you three would have missed the opening of Johto's conference and I needed you there to help me open it," Lance settled his head on her shoulder, "You thought I'd protest?"

"With how you were acting before we found out about the poison? Yeah," Vali felt him flinch, "After we found out about it, I didn't want to put more on your plate,"

"Well, I'm glad that I know now because we'll have to find your replacement," Lance sighed heavily.

Snickering softly, Vali shook her head, "I've got a few recommendations on top of Koga in case he doesn't work out," Lance chuckled, "And I've been working on an entire replacement system with Karen for when I retire, she doesn't know about that part just yet. All she knows is that I'm giving her more trust."

"Sneaky," Lance leaned back against the chair and she let her head drop onto his shoulder feeling tired.

Eyes drooping as she'd been forcing herself to stay awake for practically two days with only a scattering of cat-naps to tide her over, Vali murmured, "Thank you...for coming here."

"Of course," Lance began rubbing her side, "I've always got your back just like you've got mine. And if Steven or Cynthia were here, I've little doubt they'd be here as well,"

Sigh leaving her lips, Vali murmured, "If only they were here too."

Stepping off the ship with Metagross at his side, Steven began walking through the crowds of tourists and trainers that were milling about along the docks. As he was making his way through the docks towards the main part of the port that would take him in Vermillion itself, he paused as a shout sounded, "Steven!"

Head tilting at the sound, Steven glanced around while asking Metagross, "Meta, who was that?"

"I believe the Princess is calling for you," Metagross answered prompting Steven to reflexively reach for his pokenav only to pause as he realized the call hadn't come from the device, "She is towards the western edge of the docks with one of her gym leaders and an Elite,"

Turning in the direction Metagross had pointed out, Steven's eyes widened as he spotted Cynthia striding towards him with Volkner and Flint beside her. Practically grinning ear from ear, the blonde darted for him as soon as she saw that he was looking at her. Slamming into him with a laugh, Cynthia beamed as she said, "Oh it's been too long, Steven."

"Cynthia!" Steven hugged her in return with a surprised shake of his head and low chuckle, "What-Oh, right, Vali said you'd be coming to Kanto,"

"Mhmm!" Cynthia's grin was filled with mischief as she pulled away from him, "But...what are you doing in Kanto? As far as I know, you're supposed to be in Hoenn," She raised an eyebrow at him as Flint and Volkner made their way over, "Coming to cause mischief with me?"

Shaking his head, Steven rubbed the back of his neck, "No, I'd heard about what happened with Lance...and Vali," He saw Cynthia's gaze darken and knew she was likely feeling a similar burst of emotion as him, "I wished to offer them my support. Even if Vali doesn't really want me to travel with her at the current moment, I can easily offer Lance my assistance."

"Seems we're of a similar mind," Cynthia's smile dropped as she said that, "Anyway, have you heard from Vali since coming close to Kanto?"

"No, I-" Steven paused as his Pokenav rang.

Cynthia blinked in surprise as her poketch went off as well. Reach for their devices, they both answered them while moving away from one another. Steven tilted his head as he said, "Hello?"

"Ah, Steven," Professor Oak sounded relieved as he spoke into the line, "I wasn't sure if I'd be able to reach you as Vali and Lance have both said you've been busy as of late,"

Feeling a small amount of guilt well up, Steven tried to push it down as he replied, "I have thankfully finished what I was doing. Is something wrong, Professor?"

There was a sigh on the other line, Professor Oak's tone was semi-grave, "Yes. While I can't go into many details at the moment as it's linked to an active investigation, Vali found an abandoned Charmander that turned out to be one of Smaug's children. While she managed to get it to a pokemon center, the poor thing was unlikely to survive. Ash...pulled something very stupid off with his aura and managed to bring it around at great cost to himself. Right now, he is in the ICU at Vermillion Memorial Hospital."

"Shit," Steven slumped against Metagross feeling absolutely horrible as he could only wonder how Vali was feeling right now.

"Normally I would wait until after the situation has resolved itself to tell you or let Vali herself do so," Professor Oak continued to speak, "But given the status of things, we don't know how it'll go and Vali...she isn't in the best place right now. Lance has thankfully managed to taken some time to be with her despite the situation going on, but it won't last very long. I was hoping you might be able to give her a call. We're all coming around in shifts, but with everything going on,"

"It's a lot..." Steven released a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, "Well Professor, I can actually do you one better," He heard a noise of confusion, "I am actually in Kanto right now,"

"Y-you are?" Professor Oak murmured in surprise.

"Yeah, I was coming to actually check on Vali and Lance in person after hearing about everything that's been going on," Steven admitted with a sigh, "So I'll head over now and check on them, Professor,"

"I-alright, Steven," Professor Oak let a low sound, "I will see you a some point later then,"

Ending the call, Steven put away his pokenav and look at Cynthia who was leaning against Volkner with a look on her face that likely matched his. He spoke softly, "Ash's in the hospital."

"And Vali has been put through the ringer," Cynthia nodded her head slowly, "She can't win for a fucking second, can she?"

"Her luck..." Steven carefully pushed away from Metagross, "Vermillion Memorial is on the west side of Vermillion. I've been there a few times thanks to Vali," Cynthia gave him a curious look, "That's the hospital Vali always ends up in when she's in Vermillion,"

"I have some questions about how you know that," Flint raised an eyebrow at Steven as they started leaving the port.

"Surge hates using the other hospital here because the head doctor is a bitch that has a very bad track record from the wars," Steven led the way as Flint made a noise of interest, "He also does trust most of the doctors underneath her because all of them have a bad habit of nearly making their patients overdose. The only reason that hospital is even in business is due to the rich people that like to use it,"

"Fuck," Flint muttered as Volkner snorted beside him, "Wait...So why doesn't Surge just get rid of it? He's the Gym Leader here,"

"In Vali and Surge's words, Kanto Political Bullshit," Steven deadpanned with disgust lining his tone.

"Which we've heard Sparks bitch about multiple times," Volkner dug his hands into his pants, "So, Steven," Steven glanced at the electric-type gym leader curiously, "Any idea what to expect when we see Sparks? Thea is the only one that's really dealt with her when she's been..."

Biting his bottom lip, Steven frowned as he tried to figure out how to answer that question, "I...it depends on just how bad things truly are. But...I wouldn't expect her to be anywhere close to how she usually acts."

"Already expected that," Volkner replied making Steven giving him a confused look, "We're in Kanto. Not Sinnoh where Sparks can actually relax for a second, I don't expect her to act how she normally would around us. Well...unless we're traveling,"

"Which is going to be interesting," Flint clapped his hands with a laugh, "Fuck, we haven't been on a damn journey in years!"

Rolling his eyes, Volkney pulled Flint into a headlock, "Travelings going to wait until the kid's out of the hospital, Dingle."

"Oi!" Flint tried to fight against Volkner as Cynthia giggled softly beside them.

Shaking his head as something in his chest started to ease at the brightness of those two, Steven could see why Vali got along with the two that Cynthia brought along. His stomach dropped after a moment though, he hoped that Ash would actually be alright. The sheer thought that anything could be wrong with the bright eyed boy sickened him to the core. Even if it had been brought on by himself, he never wished to see the boy hurt.

Ash's Team:

1. Pidgeotto

Female

2. Electrike

Male

3. Pikachu

Male

4. Blitzle

Female

5. Clefairy

Male

6. Bulbasaur

Male

Gary's Team:

1. Weepinbell

Male

2. Squirtle

Male

3. Spearow

Female

4. 'Ziggy'/ Galarian Zigzagoon

Female

5. Abra

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