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BloodyKitsune1997: It's a short chapter, but I figured you guys would enjoy it.

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Chapter 28

Vali giggled as she leaned against Balto's side. The reason for her amusement was Lance's Trapinch, Dust, running around with the red head chasing after her. Dust had stolen Lance's pokedex ten minutes into their after-lunch training session clearly wishing to play a game. Lance cursed as he shouted, "Dust! Give me my pokedex back, I need it."

Vali watched for another minute before whistling softly prompting Dust to scuttle over to her. Dust laid her head in Vali's lap and released the pokedex as the fire-type master-in-training began rubbing base of her neck, "Lance, you guys have been training a lot since we received our pokemon from the League at the ceremony. How about you play with Dust for a bit? It's obvious she needs a bit of play time right now since she's decided to take your pokedex."

Lance frowned at her for a moment before sighing, "I guess you're right," He looked at Dust, "Dust, did you just want to play?" Dust reluctantly moved her head from Vali's lap and turned towards him in order to make a soft humming sound, "Alright, we can play for a bit rather than train. I guess we have been going a bit hard for awhile."

Dust perked up and grabbed Lance's pokedex before rushing over to him. Lance took his pokedex back with a smile and called over his other pokemon to begin playing with them. Eventually he took a seat next to her on the ground, she spoke while petting Aragorn's head, "It's a balance especially when pokemon are young. You need to train with them, but also ensure they get time to play."

"I had forgotten since my pokemon save for Dust have all grown up for the most part," Lance sighed softly as he looked over his playing pokemon with a light smile, "So Blaine's coming tomorrow? The boys don't seem very happy,"

"They're not, but they promised to react better than before," Vali replied as she recalled the conversation she'd shared with the two children last night, "After tomorrow, I'll be back on Cinnabar and working through my therapy,"

"Looking forward to it?" Lance asked glancing at her curiously.

Vali nodded with a slight smile, "Yeah, I've missed Cinnabar. Being home in Pallet Town has been nice, I've enjoyed it, but I miss Cinnabar. I surprisingly miss getting my ass kicked in training and I think my team does as well."

Lance snorted softly, "That's not something I thought you'd say."

"Yeah, me neither," Vali offered him a strained grin, "But the therapy's going to be difficult. They're paying for some none physio therapy sessions as well. Apparently Surge forced the issue and the League agreed since they don't want to risk any psychological damage,"

"Haven't had any nightmares, have you?" Lance asked her in concern.

Vali thought about her dreams and shivered slightly at the flashes of blue hair mixed with bursts of icy pain lancing through her side. In between her nightmares and dreams of fire, she hadn't gotten a good nights sleep since the attack had happened. She saw Lance's lips pull into a deep frown and sighed knowing that her face must've shown some sign of what had been haunting her nights. Digging her fingers into Balto's fur, she spoke softly, "Too many, Lance. Sometimes they end soon after I get scratched by a Weavile, it doesn't always end that soon though."

Lance reached out and gently squeezed her uninjured arm, "I get it, Vali. Hopefully whoever they got for your therapy will be able to help you out."

"Yeah," Vali nodded as her eyes went to his pokemon and a slight grin slowly formed on her face.

Blaine's arrival in Pallet Town was silent as a ghost which was rather unlike the old man and more like Agatha who was accompanying him. Had it not been for Elrond and Balto, Vali would've been unaware of their arrival in the clearing her pokemon had practically claimed within Professor Oak's ranch that they usually used when training together. At the current moment, it was all light training under the watchful eyes of Professor Oak's Dragonite who'd practically stolen Vali from Balto for a cuddle session not that the fire-type master-in-training was going to protest since the dragon-type's hugs were near legendary. For all that Dragonite often had scales harder than diamond if trained right, they were right up there with Altaria when it came to giving awesome hugs and she would happily cuddle with any Dragonite that offering one.

Agatha announced their arrival with a cackle, "Getting into more trouble than you can chew, Brat?"

"Not my fault, Agatha," Vali complained as she reluctantly opened her eyes and shifted a bit earning a groaning coo of displeasure from Dragonite who didn't want her to move at all, "This is a surprise, what can I do for you?"

"You seem to find yourself in interesting situations and even if those Rangers back at Delco wanted to bury your involvement, they cannot," Agatha grinned darkly at her, "The blue haired Poacher's mind is psychic guarded. Many layers of it and has a few different layers of things that aren't psychic based, you caught us someone that most definitely is not some simple Poacher, Brat. I'm here for the League to find out what exactly happened during your encounter with that bastard. Before it, during, and after if you're able to talk about it. They're not sending a psychic since the League isn't stupid enough to send someone to see you after what happened after Sabrina used her powers on you. Sabrina is busy right now using her powers on the Poacher, so she can't come talk with you in hopes of getting the images straight from you. I volunteered since I've already met you,"

Vali was thankful for the actual explanation and tapped Dragonite to sit up so they could talk more comfortably. She leaned carefully against Dragonite, "Okay, Agatha. I'm assuming that this'll be recorded then?"

"Yup," Agatha nodded as she took out a rather clunky looking device from a bag that Vali hadn't noticed before and guessed it'd come from her shadow, "This is Agatha of the Elite Four speaking with Valkyrie Rosebud Potter-Black Age 11 who's currently the apprentice of Blaine. Vali will be speaking of the events regarding the capture of suspect Poach Argus Roan currently suspected to be of Kanto. Vali?"

"After reaching my assigned place for the mission, I released the pokemon that I'd have out for the mission. Elrond, my Alolan Raichu, Pele, my Numel, Idril, my Sandslash, and Terra, my Larvitar. Elrond would be staying above ground as my contact with the others and the one who would be keeping me appraised of anyone approaching that I couldn't see," Vali began her explanation as she thought back to that night, "The others went below ground and began trapping it which was pretty easy seeing as we'd been place by a set of cliffs. We easily overcame and trapped the first Poacher which should've tipped me off that something was wrong,"

"Why?" Agatha asked softly and carefully as if not to break a trance.

Vali took a deep breath as she slowly approached the harder to speak of moments, "The first Poacher, a woman, released no pokemon. It was only when Idril went to take her pokeballs that we realized that she had none. Elrond realized that the other Poacher had taken them and the male Poacher, Roan, confirmed it. He snuck up on us somehow though we're still unsure as to how," She swallowed harshly and gripped Dragonite arm as her pokemon slowly began to crowd around her, "The altercation began when he said he'd take my pokeballs from me as well. He sent out a Raticate which Elrond began fighting and quickly defeated only for a Houndour to follow it. Idril and Pele involved themselves to back him up. When the Poacher complained about it not being fair, I replied that 'Poacher's don't play fair, why should I?'"

"That was tempting fate, wasn't it?" Agatha asked earning a nod as her eyes saw Vali's hand go to her side, "And that was when the Weavile hurt you?"

"Yes. My team released themselves after that and things went chaotic. I don't remember much until Roan was grabbing me," Vali hand went to her throat as she remembered the knife, "He held it, a knife, to my throat," Agatha and Blaine both went pale as her pokemon bristled while Dragonite went still beneath her, "I don't know how I managed to stay calm. My blood felt like it went cold. But when he threatened to take them, my pack, away from me," She looked at Agatha feeling a burning sensation curl against her fingers, "I couldn't let it happen. I pushed my magic to protect my magic and put to work Surge's lessons to protect myself while getting the knife away from him. My pokemon knocked him out quickly after that and I sent them to get someone help after we had Roan captured,"

Silence reigned in the clearing as Vali's words faded, Eevee quickly jumped into her lap and carefully began to cuddle into her stomach making sure to avoid her injured side. Vali began to pet him as she leaned against Dragonite carefully as the large reptile hugged her tightly though the arm around her injured side was rather light. Agatha finally spoke after a couple of minutes, "Agatha of the Elite Four. I deem nothing need be clarified."

With that, Agatha turned off the device and promptly slumped with one of her Gengar quickly wrapping its arms around her. Blaine spoke with a frown on his face, "Brat, you've never mentioned the knife at your throat."

"All things considered, Blaine, I'm just glad Vali isn't dead," Agatha said with a wary look on her face, "How many children in her position could say the same thing?"

Blaine didn't say anything in replay and only shook his head. Vali spoke up as she continued to pet Eevee, "Agatha, what's going to happen now?"

"Once Sabrina has time, she'll probably come to speak with you about getting the memory," Agatha said earning a slight flinch, "Sorry, Brat. The League'll push for it. Whoever this bastard really is, he's important,"

"Okay," Vali nodded slowly not exactly liking the idea of someone going into her mind for any reason even if it was Sabrina, "It'll probably be around the time we usually meditate together,"

Agatha blinked in surprise at the information before shaking it off, "Good," Agatha stood up slowly with the Gengar helping her, "I'll be going back to the League. I'll be sending something along to help with your Litwick's training, Vali. If this is a sign of what you'll end up getting into later on in your life, she'll definitely need a better training plan than you bumbling around with training a ghost-type like most do. Granted, I'll mostly be giving you an over-view, but it'll be more than what most get."

"Thank you, Agatha," Vali told her earnestly as stroked Dragonite's scales, "Even if Litwick isn't much of a battler, she'll appreciate it,"

Agatha nodded to her before turning and walking away with her Gengar. Blaine spoke once Agatha had disappeared among the trees, "We're going to be heading out soon. Are you ready, Brat?"

Vali nodded as Dragonite let out a saddened coo, "I packed everything up last night. I just need to say my goodbyes and grab my things."

Blaine inclined his head as Eevee jumped off her lap and Vali began carefully making her way to a standing position with Elrond assisting with Psychic. Dragonite stood once she'd gotten up and hugged her softly. Vali smiled gently and returned the hug as Blaine said, "We'll head back to the lab by teleportation so you may speak with Professor Oak and anyone else there."

"Sounds good," Vali was released by Dragonite as the large dragon-type gave her a stern look and didn't require a translation to get the meaning, "I'll be more careful, Dragonite. We all will,"

Dragonite reached out with a paw and carefully tapped Vali's nose with a claw before backing up a bit. With a slight crouch and single powerful flex of her wings, Dragonite was soaring away into the pretty blue sky. Vali watched her go with a slightly sad smile already missing the powerful dragon-type's warmth and calming energy though knew she'd always just have to return to the ranch if she truly wanted to see Dragonite. She returned all her pokemon save for Eevee and Elrond before turning to Blaine. Blaine called out his Delphox, Delphi, and they were teleporting after the fox-like pokemon gave her a once-over. Once they'd arrived at the lab, they headed inside where Lance was talking to one of the aides. Blaine spoke upon spotting the red head, "Lance Blackthorn, I thought you were in Johto."

"Gym Leader Blaine," Lance turned towards them and his eyes lingered on Vali, "I have been since a bit after the Conference, but returned to Kanto a few days ago when Vali was released from the hospital. I assume by your presence its time for her return to Cinnabar?"

"Yes," Blaine replied as Vali stepped away from his side.

"I see," Lance turned back to the aide he'd been speaking to, "If you'd allow me a couple minutes, I'd like to continue our conversation,"

"No problem, Lance," The aide replied with a light grin, "I need to go tell Professor Oak that Vali's going to be talking to him,"

The aide headed off with a small wave leaving the three of them alone though Blaine was quick to say, "I'm going to go speak with Oak. We've got a few things to discuss."

With that said, Blaine headed after the aide. Vali looked after him for a couple moments before focusing on Lance as the red head said, "So you're leaving, huh?"

"Yeah," Vali nodded with a sad smile, "I figured today would be it which is why I packed last night, but still didn't quite expect it," She eyed him a bit, "Are you heading back to Johto soon?"

"In a day or so," Lance ran a hand through his hair, "It's going to be a bit awkward being here without you, but then again, I think your little brother will appreciate it,"

"They will," Vali agreed, "Lance, thanks for coming to see me. It was good to have one of my friends come visit me and help keep my mind from what happened," She hugged Lance carefully making him stiffen for a moment before he returned the hug, "I'm truly glad we got to spend time together. Hopefully next time, it won't be because I was injured,"

"Hopefully," Lance chuckled softly as she let him go and he released her, "Keep me updated, okay? Therapy isn't going to be easy,"

"Same for you," Vali replied as they started down the same path as Blaine and the aide with Elrond to guide them, "I want to hear how my future Champion is fairing,"

Lance grinned at her, "Sounds like a plan, Future Elite Four Vali."

Vali playfully rolled her eyes, but felt warmth fill her chest at the sound of that, "Got to impress me by becoming Champion first, Lance."

Lance let out a bark of laughter as they quickly reached where Professor Oak, Blaine, and the aide were. By the worried look the aide was giving the two quietly but heatedly discussing old men, it probably wasn't a very good discussion. Lance's laughter broke the two old men from their discussion though the glances they exchanged definitely meant the matter wasn't settled. Professor Oak smiled warmly at the two trainers, "Vali and Lance, I'm glad to see that you've joined us."

"I'm only joining you for a few moments so Travis and I can resume our discussion," Lance said as the aide quickly crossed the work area, "Vali, I'll talk to you later,"

"Talk to you later, Lance," Vali confirmed with a smile.

Lance left with Travis and shut the door behind him. Vali looked between Blaine and Professor Oak feeling how tense the room was. Professor Oak spoke as he stood up, "Vali, I hear that you're leaving today."

"I am, Professor," Vali dipped her head lightly, "I wanted to thank you for continuing to look after my pokemon and helping me with their training. Not to mention letting Dragonite practically attach herself to me since I came back, I've already said my goodbyes to her,"

Professor Oak nodded his head as he walked over to one of the tables, "It was no problem especially since Dragonite was insistent on doing it. I assume you're saying goodbye to me then heading out to find the boys?"

"Yeah," Vali nodded as she watched him begin to rummage around the table he'd walked over to, "They're in one of the other parts of the lab, right?"

"Yes, they're helping to take care of the younger normal-types," Professor Oak answered, "I'll be starting them on some of the other-types of pokemon as they've shown a rather remarkable ability to take care of them,"

"It helps that I've let them help me with Aragorn and Houndour," Vali saw him pause for a moment and hum softly, "Professor?"

"Vali, do you remember those stones Steven and you found back in the Safari Zone?" Professor Oak asked as he picked up a small wooden box from the table.

Vali nodded as her mind went back to the one sitting in the dresser of her room at the Ketchum-Black-Potter residence, "Yeah, you wanted to do further testing with the stones. I haven't given much thought to them."

"Well with recent events, it's pushed me to decide something," Professor Oak turned to her and began walking over until he stood just before the young fire-type master-in-training, "Unlike Sirius, you're not as reliant on magic, but it's also not something that you use often. As recent events have told us, you need to use magic if only to ensure your life is not in danger like it was during this mission. Both of you have mention that its harder to control your magic without a focus and without spells, I have hopefully fixed that with this," He held out the box to her, "I'm giving you the stone that was used during your portion of the testing,"

Vali looked at him in shock for a few moments before carefully taking the box, "But Professor, you wanted to do more tests..."

Professor Oak shook his head causing her to trail off, "I have, Vali. Without you and Sirius here, the results remain inconclusive. Seeing as neither of you are able to be here often, I cannot accurately study these and to be honest, it's probably for the best. You two would be even more vulnerable after all."

Vali felt her eyes burn a bit as she carefully opened the box and found the stone attached to a bracelet made of corded leather. The stone had been smoothed and transformed into a flame-like piece. Smiling softly, she spoke while lifting it out of the box, "Thank you, Professor. It's amazing."

Professor Oak took the box from her and Vali attached the bracelet to her wrist. The stone was cool against her skin for a few moments before becoming warm with the stone becoming a fiery red. Blaine sucked in a sharp breath at the sight and she looked at him curiously, "I didn't truly believe the whole magic thing, Brat. Seeing that, I can actually start believing it."

"Vali," Professor Oak said prompting her to look at him and he looked grave, "I dislike the idea of you being in danger, but with the path you've chosen, it's inevitable. With this, you should at least return home intact,"

Hearing his words, Vali curled her fingers around the bracelet feeling both calm and anxious.

After a bit more talking though it was mostly the Professor ensuring that Vali knew she'd be able to contact him even with the apprenticeship and that he really wished to hear from her, she headed out to find Ash and Gary. The two boys were easy to find especially when she'd been doing the same during the time before her journey. The assistant noticed her and after the boys were done with their current task quickly sent them over to where she stood by the door. Rather than speak inside the room where many of the baby pokemon were settling down for a nap, she led them to a small room off to the side that wasn't currently being used. Reaching it, she led them inside as Ash and Gary talked about the pokemon they were caring for with soft voices and beaming smiles.

Upon seeing her sad smile, Ash was the first to falter in his speech and fall silent with Gary following quickly after. Ash spoke after a moment of silence fell across the room, "Vali, is something wrong?"

"No, Ash," Vali shook her head, "Nothing is wrong. I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying this part of your lessons with Professor Oak so much. I'm proud of how mature you're both being," She knew that it was best not to put it off, "The day I'm supposed to leave is here, Guys. Blaine's arrived and he's currently talking to Professor Oak. I'll make sure to call you guys as often as I can like before, but that's the best I'll be able to do for the moment,"

The two froze before Ash swallowed heavily and nodded while Gary said, "T-that's fine, Vali. We don't like it, but w're going to keep our promise from before."

Vali smiled softly at them feeling a bit better and motioned to them both, "Come on, you two. Give me a hug, I need one. You can't hug me too tight, but still."

Vali led the way into the Ketchum-Black-Potter residence where she could hear Delia talking on the phone. She offered Blaine a small smile and led him into the kitchen where Delia was speaking on the phone. The woman glanced away from the phone slightly and beamed upon noticing her, "Vali! I was just talking about you to Sirius! Sirius, Vali's here."

Vali blinked feeling a bit started at the sound of Sirius' name seeing as she hadn't seen him since she'd been in the hospital. From what they'd talked about on the phone, Sirius had been on a mission and unable to come home since she'd been injured. The man was furious and had let it be known quite loudly. She walked over to peek at the video phone and found Sirius' face staring back at her. The slightly grainy quality of the picture told her he was at one of the older ranger outposts that didn't get updated often, "Siri?"

"Hey, Pup!" Sirius' eyes were slightly dark, "How are you doing today?"

"Other than numb? Stiff and achy," Vali answered doing her best not to shrug, "I'm heading back to Cinnabar today,"

"Really?" Sirius' eyes darkened even more causing Vali to feel slightly alarmed, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yes," Vali answered without question, "Cinnabar is where my apprenticeship is and it isn't Blaine's fault I was in that position, Siri. We've had this conversation before," Though it hadn't caused him to become angry which meant the League must've done something to piss him off, "Can you quit trying to convince me otherwise? I'm bound my contract and I plan on sticking to it,"

"Fine," Sirius huffed at her with a shake of his head, "I'll be heading to Pallet in two weeks. I'll visit you a week afterward, alright?"

Vali nodded with a grin, "I'd love that, Siri! I've missed you."

"Missed you too, Pup. Reg's missed you as well," A bark sounded earning a laugh from Vali and Delia, "I gotta go, you two. My patrol's going to begin fifteen minutes and I need to eat something. I'll see ya soon enough,"

"See you," The two chorused together before the screen went blank.

Delia smiled softly, "It'll be wonderful to have Sirius home even if you won't be here, Vali. Blaine, You'll take care of you, won't you?"

"I will," Blaine promised with a nod.

"Good," Delia smiled warmly, "Vali, why don't you head over to your room? Your bags are ready for you,"

"Right," Vali nodded lightly as she eyed the two for a moment before heading out of the kitchen.

Delia watched her adoptive daughter leave before turning to Blaine with a stern expression, "Vali's still going to be involved with that man? That Poacher?!"

Blaine didn't even look surprised by her knowledge. He merely sighed deeply and nodded, "The League needs to know what exactly happened during their encounter. Once they do, Vali will never have to do anything with him again. She won't need to go near him. I'll ensure it."

Delia glared at him, "I know better than that, Blaine. I might not have made it further than the fifth gym, but you forget who Ash's father is. I know that the League won't stop there especially not when Vali will very likely encounter other powerful enemies. The fact she practically stumbled across a way for you to end the Poaching operation where all others failed? They won't let that go."

By the clenching of Blaine's jaw, Delia knew she was right. Blaine clenched his hand and said, "I said that I'd take care of her. I won't break that promise. The League won't get their claws into her any further until she's ready and by then, she'll be out of her apprenticeship and able to avoid having to make any promises to them."

Delia closed her eyes and felt tears burn at them, "I hope your right. By Mew and Arceus both, I hope your right."

When Vali returned to the kitchen, Delia was quick to wrap her into an almost too tight hug that made the fire-type master-in-training grunt slightly though she hugged the woman back. Delia spoke softly in her ear, "Please be safe, Vali. Come home to me, you need to make sure of that. You need to make sure all of your pack comes back to us."

"I will, Delia," Vali promised while wondering what had brought this on and feeling strangely spooked by Delia's attitude.

Delia nuzzled into her hair for a moment before pulling away. She sniffed softly, "Alright, I suppose it's time for you two to go."

Vali nodded as she peered at Delia with a sad grin, "I'll call you tonight and let you know how everything's going."

"I'll be waiting," Delia's lips quivered a bit, "Oh, Vali. I really don't want you to go even if this is what you've got to do. While you need to work hard, I want you to make sure you'll rest,"

"I will," Vali promised easily, "Balto and the others will make sure of it. Elrond's already making sure they know I've made that promise,"

Delia let out a laugh as Elrond nodded in agreement, "Oh dear, you all. Take care of each other, we'll be waiting for you here."

"We know," Vali murmured softly.

Vali hugged Delia one more time before leaving with Blaine. Blaine only spoke after they'd left the house, "Things won't be easy, Brat. Even once we get your body retrained, I'm going to be putting you through hell."

"Never asked for anything less," Vali replied with a determined look on her face as she looked across Pallet Town and the grassy green hill surrounding it, "I signed up to be put through hell when becoming your apprentice. My pokemon and I, we need to get stronger not just for us," She looked back at Blaine, "I'll take anything you throw at me. While I might bitch about it, I won't give in,"

Blaine nodded cracking the first grin she'd seen since that horrible last mission back at Delco, "Glad to hear it, Brat."

Therapy didn't start on Cinnabar, it started on the ship there since Blaine wanted to get some one-on-one time in. Vali's array of curses were used quite frequently as she struggled through the rather painful exorcises meant to bring back her flexibility. Balto and her other pokemon were quickly put through their paces by Blaine as well though Vali was often the one implementing his 'advice'. Seel greatly enjoyed a chance to swim in the water and the sailors were happy to offer tips in how to train him. All of her pokemon got more experience battling water-types though Empress was quite tense during this period. To offset this a bit, Vali spent much of the break time she had simply reassuring Empress and grooming the dragon-type as best she could.

Jackson was waiting for them as they disembarked from the boat and quickly grabbed Vali's bag, "Boss-man, Vali! I'm glad your back."

"Did anything stupid happen?" Blaine asked as he started moving immediately leaving the two gym trainers to catch up.

"Nothing really," Jackson shook his head lightly, "I do have good news. Martha has made a small breakthrough in one of her projects. Not sure which one since it's all gone over my head,"

Jackson rattled off various things that everyone had been doing while Blaine had been away and Vali simply listened feeling a bit sad that she'd missed out on it. She couldn't wait to see everyone and would be happy to spend time with them. She felt Elrond tug at her mind and focused on Jackson when he gestured to the pink haired man, "Yeah, Jackson? Sorry, I wasn't really focused. I was thinking about the fact I'll be able to see everyone and spend time with them again."

"I'm glad to hear it," Jackson smiled warmly at her, "Everyone's been so worried especially when Boss-man said you were injured via Sneasel and Weavile. Those critters are nasty pieces of work even when trained right, I honestly can't imagine how you felt in that moment,"

"It was crazy," Vali felt so bad for the lies.

Jackson shook his head with a slight mournful look, "Terrible thing to happen to you, I swear. I'm just glad you've made it back and will be working to recover. Are you sure about returning to Cinnabar though? Why not stay home a while longer?"

"Home is a bit boring while Cinnabar will let my pokemon and I keep moving forward," Vali replied as she reached up to scratch under Eevee's chin, "Not to mention, I was starting to get a bit stir crazy and missed being here. Cinnabar is starting to become home as well even if its only been a month and a bit,"

Jackson looked a little surprised before positively beaming at her.

Vali was able to unpack her bag and get settled somewhat in her room before someone finally got the memo she'd returned. A knock sounded as Vali sat with Smaug's head in her lap and Balto stretched out across the bed. She looked at the door for a moment and contemplated not replying before finally saying, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal Zavian who's eyes ran over the pokemon scattered across the room. He looked relieved at seeing everyone there as he stepped inside and close the door behind him, "Bad job?"

"Bad luck," Vali retorted with a shake of her head, "I pretty much got the short end of it though we all made it out in the end. It's a lesson we're never forgetting though,"

"Good to hear it," Zavian ran a hand through his hair, "Fuck, Vali. I like ya, Kid. You stress me out to hell and back though,"

Vali couldn't stop the bark of laughter bubbling up in her throat from escaping and grinned at him, "You aren't the first to say that, Zavian."

"Glad to have you back," Zavian grinned back at her.

To Vali's surprise, the group of gym trainers had decided to throw a small party in honor of her coming back to the gym. Vali was touched by it and greatly enjoyed the food that had been gotten for the party. Blaine only put up a half-hearted protest before grinning and calling them 'damn brats' before saying not to stay up too late. Vali ate far too much, but felt lighter surrounded by her fellow gym trainers as well as Amity. When she decided to head to bed, Amity joined her. Amity spoke as they walked through the halls of the gym, "I was scared that you wouldn't come back. When Blaine said that you'd been hurt..."

"I know a lot of people were," Vali replied though she knew Amity's fears went deeper, "That fear wasn't just for my health, it goes deeper though. It's the fear that your only link to finding out what's going on with you is gone, right?"

"Yes," Amity looked down at her knees slightly as she slowly wheeled herself next to Vali, "It's selfish of me, but I can't help it,"

"I get it, Amity," Vali smiled at Amity's rather shocked look, "I'd feel the same. I'm pretty sure that I have at some point even if I've forgotten it," She made an aborted shrug, "We're not all that close, so it's natural you'd fear losing an information source rather than a friend. One day, it'll change,"

Amity's jaw clenched, "T-that just makes me feel worse."

Vali frowned softly, "Sorry, I'm usually better at helping people," She snapped her fingers, "Focus on the fact that you were scared of losing a friend, we were becoming friends after all, right? So do that, we just need to become closer friends," She sighed softly, "I honestly don't know what else to say."

"It's fine," Amity looked down at her hands, "But Vali, it's good to have you back,"

"I'm glad to be back," Vali replied with a warm grin.

Seeing as Vali's body struggled with the more physically demanding aspects of being a gym trainer, Jackson decided to teach her the electronic aspects which would've come at a later date once she'd spent more time at Cinnabar. In-between working with the computer, Jackson had her follow him around and basically get a more in-depth feel for how their gym was structured. When she wasn't doing that, Blaine had her doing either Therapy or Training. Both were capitalized as they'd become hell for Vali and her pokemon, they both relished and dreaded the painful hours that awaited them.

With medicine that the doctors prescribed and magic flooding her veins, Vali was able to do her Therapy for longer than most people normally do. Training was both physical and power with everything in between thrown at her pokemon, they spent all day working their bodies to the bones. Blaine made sure when Vali had Therapy her pokemon didn't train and vise versa thus ensuring a day of rest between each intensive training session. By the end of their first week with this new schedule, they were ready to quit though none voiced it. Week two was complained about though all felt a bit better at the end. Week three was complete garbage with no one able to move at the end of it. And week four, they felt like it was do able.

"Come on," An eleven year old boy with a Furret curled around his shoulder, "Can't you move the gym battle up a day?"

Vali inwardly groaned at the demanding little shit, "No, Mister Folk. Gym Leader Blaine is scheduled to battle at the time you wish to and there are no other slots open on that day," She really hoped Gary never became like this asshole, "Now I've got an opening for 10 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm for you to choose from, Mister Folk."

The boy grimaced at her, "1 pm."

Vali nodded and began typing his information into the computer making sure to put a note into the compute for Blaine about his attitude like Jackson had requested. She finished not long later, "Alright there we go, you're all set, Mister Folk," She handed him back his pokedex earning a slight huff, "Please arrive at the gym on time. The 1 pm slot is very popular and Gym Leader Blaine does have many duties to attend which means not waiting on late challengers."

The boy scowled at her before turning and stalking off. Vali slumped into her chair with a low sigh and rubbed at her face. A chuckle sounded from beside her, "Figured out it's not all glamorous to be one of us yet?"

"You'd think they'd be a bit more polite," Vali complained earning a snort from Jackson as he took a seat.

"You'd think, but nope," Jackson shook his head and looked over the kid's profile for a couple minutes only to snort, "Kid's going to lose his spot for sure. He's been late to his first two gym battles and only managed to avoid losing his place due to how slow it was,"

Vali grinned at him, "Poor kid," She shook her head, "Must be aiming to get an easy gym badge, he should've gone for Surge."

"He did," Jackson said earning a surprised look and Vali quickly moved over to look at the kid's page, "See? He won his first badge against Surge and his second against Sabrina,"

Vali promptly started to laugh, "Kid's going to get his ass kicked by Pewter and Cerulean. They ain't going to be messing around especially once they saw what he did."

"Nope and if he's late again..." Jackson trailed off earning a grin, "Too bad for his pokemon, he might be an intelligent kid if he's managed to get past Sabrina for a second badge, but still,"

Vali shook her head, "Kid's going to suffer come the Conference. Smarts will only get you so far."

Jackson chuckled as he sent the information off to Blaine. Vali looked over the battles scheduled for the next couple of days with a slight smile. When the door open, she looked up to find Stella walking inside. Giving the blonde a surprised look, she sat up a bit straighter as Jackson asked, "Here for a gym battle, miss?"

"No, I'm actually here to see Vali," Stella said as she smiled brightly with a Pachirisu on her shoulder, "Mind if I steal her for a bit?"

"Not really, it's about time for her break anyway," Jackson replied with a shrug as Vali slowly stood up with Eevee jumping down from his position on the desk and Aragorn got up from the ground, "Just make sure you're back in an hour, Vali,"

"Sure thing, Jackson," Vali told him as she walked around the desk towards Stella, "I can do that,"

Stella held open the door and they walked outside. Sunlight immediately began to beat down on them, Vali perked up at the feeling of it. Stella spoke as they began walking down the walkway towards the town, "So, how have you been since it all happened?"

"It's been rough," Vali answered with a slight sigh, "Going through therapy isn't easy, I'm regaining some of my flexibility, but it feels slow," She looked at Stella curiously, "How have you been?"

"Busy as hell. The base practically exploded like a Beedrill hive," Stella looked exhausted, "Leagues' been running us ragged trying to catch more poachers and dealing with any other larger operations we come across,"

Vali nodded in understanding, "Sounds like things have been hard on both of us."

"Yeah," Stella smiled slightly, "I'm glad things have been alright other than that,"

Vali remember something Delia had mentioned, "Oh yeah, the print you wanted? Delia said you could pick it up at any time."

"Awesome," Stella grinned at that, "I'd forgotten about it," She stopped suddenly and looked around them at the island, "Huh, ya know? I forgot how pretty Cinnabar was. If you ignore the tourists and all that, it's an awesome place,"

"It is," Vali enjoyed the nights especially, "I love spending time just soaking up the heat,"

Stella snorted, "Fire-type master-in-training indeed."