Departures

Once her pokemon had recovered from the immense strain tackling that wild fire had placed on them, they began training in earnest for their gym battle. Lt. Surge typically used three pokemon when you went against him with out three badges. The first two pokemon tended to switch around quite a bit, but the last one was always a Raichu. Raichu were slower than Pikachu, but more than made up for it with the sheer power they had behind them as unlike Pikachu, the electric sacks on their cheeks were fully formed and able to hold far more electricity. They also had more control over their electricity which made getting hit by their attacks a really bad idea. As a result, Vali was going to go with Balto and Pikachu with her third pokemon still up in the air.

It was difficult to choose who to use during the battle despite Celina being at the Ranch. Smaug was a high possibility, but Vali had to consider her other options. Despite being experienced, Idril was a ground-type which would ensure that Lt. Surge's electrical attacks did nothing to her. She wasn't really considering either Arwen or Terra due to how new they were. Oh, Arwen would probably give a good showing especially if Lt. Surge used a Magnemite or Magneton, but Balto could take care of it just as well. Terra was still far too new and not strong enough to face Lt. Surge even with him being restricted by not having her third gym badge.

On the one hand, Smaug was strong and had far more experience than Idril. On the other hand, he had already been in a gym battle and she already had a fire-type fighting. On one hand, Idril was a ground-type which gave her an advantage over Lt. Surge. On the other hand, Lt. Surge more than likely had a counter for ground-types and Idril didn't have many ground-type attacks. Idril was still timid when it came to battling whereas Smaug had absolutely no problem with it. She still had time to choose though, so would be giving them equal attention.

A quick check with her dex provided a rather surprising development. Idril had learned Mud-Slap at some point during the wild fire which was good since it gave her another ground-type attack. Smaug hadn't learned anymore moves, but Vali was going to change that. Seeing as Lance had a Charizard that new quite a few attacks not to mention that his dragon-types would probably be able to help Smaug use his egg move, she asked the red haired trainer if his Charizard would mind taking Smaug under its wing. Lance agreed so long as she didn't mind having Terra battle his new Dratini which was easy to agree to since she needed to get used to commanding the ground and rock-type. Once that was done, she began focusing on having Idril hone her newly learned move before they moved onto learning another one.

Pikachu managed to learn Thunder Bolt then she had him learn Thunder Wave which was pretty much child's play for the mouse pokemon. Once he managed to learn that, Vali began looking through the attacks he could learn before settling on Double Team which led him to learning under Zaria's Seedot, Nuz, knew. In exchange for help learning the move, Pikachu would be hitting Zaria's pokemon with a low level Thunder Wave or other electric attack to help them get used to the electricity. It would help them both against Lt. Surge and every other electric-type out there that Zaria might end up coming across. Once Pikachu learned the move, she would have him teach her other pokemon that were able to learn it.

Balto finally managed to learn Reversal though that was only after using a bastardized version of it during a mock battle against Zaria's Zorua. Once he perfected it, Vali had him learn Flame Wheel alongside Arwen. Flame Wheel wasn't that hard to learn for either of the fire-types. As it was a speed-based attack, they were perfectly suited towards learning it. Of course, they both had trouble directing the move once they managed to learn the basics. The amount of time both of them had to be rushed into the pokemon center because they hit a rock too hard or each other made her very glad she didn't actually have to pay for the visits.

For Terra, Vali was focusing on seeing where her baseline was. Terra had a lot of power inside her small form, but not much stamina or speed. She had a good grasp of her attacks, but none of them were particularly powerful. She quickly worked out a training schedule for Terra after reading up on what was currently known about the Larvitar-line. She had Terra work on her stamina both with attacking and sustained movement making sure that the Larvitar walked beside her along with Balto to ensure her newest pokemon got more stamina. Terra also worked on increasing her speed as Tyranitar weren't exactly fast and her first stage was the only one that could work on speed as Pupitar were pretty much unable to move outside of releasing concussive blasts of air that sent them rocketing around. Of course, Terra would still be able to battle even as a Pupitar due to the fact she knew Ancient Power and with some modifications, she could actually use that move to move around.

Vali jogged around the training field her pokemon were currently practicing in with Steven. She was more than a little surprised to feel a small weight brush against her legs and looked down to see Eevee. She faltered a bit before catching herself as she asked, "Joining us for the run, Eevee?" Eevee let out a soft bark in reply which she took as an agreement, "Okay though take it easy since you haven't really been exercising much. I really don't want you to get overly exhaust yourself."

Eevee offered her another bark before focusing on keeping up with her. Vali entered into a light while keeping an eye on Eevee. When he began to lag, she slowed down to a jog then into a light trot. Eevee kept close to her throughout the run and stayed next to her during the exercises that she began to do though he seemed a bit confused. She explained each exercise and why she was doing them which seemed to make him happy. When she finally stopped to take a small breather and get some water, Eevee startled her by leaning into her side. She looked down at him and he peered up at her. Instead of saying anything, she merely nodded at him with a light smile.

When Vali settled down for the night, Eevee laid down on the pillow next to her head much to the surprise of her other pokemon though they were quick to accept him. Before moving to lay down in his usual spot, Balto paused to nuzzle Eevee lightly. Each of her other pokemon offered a surprisingly welcoming Eevee their own version of a goodnight. She laid down feeling her pokemon getting into their usual positions before she slowly reached out to Eevee. Pausing just before his muzzle, she watched as Eevee debated with himself before he leaned forward into her touch. With a gentle hand touching his soft fur, she pet him as she murmured, "Goodnight, Eevee. Sweet dreams."

Zaria's battle against Lt. Surge was harsh and she nearly lost if it weren't for Nuz the Seedot evolving at the last possible moment. It was a win by the skin of her teeth and the dark-type master-in-training knew it. It seemed to light a fire underneath her even hotter than the one that had motivated Vali's pokemon into training even harder before her battle at the Cerulean gym. Zaria stayed in Vermilion city for a few days after the battle both to ensure the newly evolved Nuzleaf was healthy and to finish Pikachu's Double Team training. During a walk together by the docks when she wanted some good pictures of the ocean to send home, Zaria admitted that she stayed longer to properly plan out her next course of action.

Zaria stared out at the sun soaked ocean, "I can't keep doing what I am. My team doesn't deserve having their asses kicked just because we didn't train hard enough."

"At the very least, you admit that you need to do more for them," Vali said as she raised her camera and took a picture of Zaria, "Just like them, we as trainers are constantly evolving. If it weren't for us spending a month in Cerulean and visiting the gym so much, I would've lost my second gym battle. I've been lucky that Steven and I have taken the time we have in each place to train otherwise there's no doubt in my mind that I'd lose my gym battles,"

"Aren't you two worried that you won't get all your gym badges in time for the League?" Zaria asked her with a slight frown.

Vali shrugged lightly as she leaned against the railing and began going through the pictures she'd taken so far that day, "To be honest, I don't care if I miss out on the League this year. If it means my pokemon will be better prepared for the next one, I can't really complain especially since by Kanto/Johto rules, the gym badges are valid for two years before you have to go against the gym leaders again."

"Guess that explains why you're so relaxed," Zaria commented with a sigh, "I wish I could be,"

Vali looked at her in concern, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"My mom...If I don't compete in this years League conference or don't give a good enough showing, she might actually manage to convince my dad that I'm not ready to be a trainer," Zaria clenched her fist, "I get why she's so worried especially after that wild fire, but I'm so..."

"Frustrated?" Vali offered seeing Zaria look a bit lost.

Zaria nodded as she punched the railing a bit, "I've dreamed about becoming a dark-type master since I was a little kid after seeing an Umbreon win the Indigo Conference. The grace and power it had were amazing. My mom knows all that, but she just tries to keep me at home."

Vali felt a bit awkward as she patted Zaria's shoulder, "Parents will always worry about their kids especially when they're miles away. I may not know the full feeling since my actual parents died when I really young, but I know enough. Sirius worries a lot about me especially after what happened with the male Nidoran incident. Delia worries about me too despite the fact I'm not her actual child. Just give your mom time and she'll eventually come around."

"I guess you're right," Zaria offered her a light smile, "Thanks, Vali,"

"No problem," Vali raised her camera, "Mind posing a bit? I want to get a good picture to send home,"

"So I guess this is it, huh?" Zaria hefted her bag onto the shoulder not claimed by Zorua and placed a hand on Nuz's head.

"Seems like it," Vali smiled at Zaria as she took a picture of the scene.

Zaria laughed softly, "Keep taking those pictures of yours, Vali. You're pretty damn good at it."

"I will," Vali reached into her pocket, "Oh, take this,"

"A photo?" Zaria looked down at the photo she handed her, "Oh this is awesome. When did you take it?"

The photo was of Zaria with her entire team of pokemon surrounding her, "Two days ago. I figured you'd probably want a copy of it."

"Thanks, Vali," Zaria took off her bag and placed the photo inside.

"No problem," Vali replied, "Just promise me you'll be careful, I really want to meet up again and have a battle together,"

"With words like that, it sounds to me you want to become rivals," Zaria smirked at Vali.

Vali shrugged lightly, "Not really, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have a rival especially one attempting to also become a master."

Zaria held out a hand, "Rivals then?"

"Rivals," Vali took the older girl's hand, "I look forward to our next meeting,"

"Definitely," Zaria said as they shook before she pulled Vali into a light hug, "You be careful too. It'd be a shame if a friend like you ended up getting hurt somehow,"

"I'll try," Vali hugged her back and rubbed between Zorua's ears, "Hopefully the weather keeps up,"

"Yeah," Zaria pulled away and re-shouldered her bag, "See you!"

Vali smiled as Zaria began walking away, "See you!"

"Steven, keep her out of trouble!" Zaria shouted over her shoulder as Steven walked up, "I'd hate it if my rival got into trouble because you weren't watching over her,"

Steven looked down at Vali with a raised eyebrow, "Rival?"

"Mostly Zaria's idea, but it seems like a good idea especially since we're pretty equal in skill, ya know," Vali waved as Zaria began disappearing from sight, "Just a friendly one,"

Lance departed from Vermilion city two days later. Rather than go to Celadon city, he was heading to Cinnabar and the Seafoam islands. Lance grinned as he looked at the boat that would be taking him to Cinnabar, "This will be so much, I love boat rides."

"How come you're not just riding your Dragonite or Charizard to Cinnabar?" Vali asked him curiously.

"I've never been to Cinnabar before and considering how many islands are off the coast of Kanto, it's just safer to go by boat," Lance answered as his newest Dratini settled around his shoulders, "There's also the fact that my beautiful girl here would probably prefer not being in her pokeball during our first trip to the ocean together,"

"Well, good luck and safe travels," Steven said earning a nod.

Lance boarded his boat and waved as it began to move away from the port.