Introductions and the job

By the time Lt. Surge was done with them, they were all exhausted and Vali was just a bit leery about doing it all over again at five. At the very least, it would only be for an hour and they'd be able to get dinner afterward. Vali returned her pokemon save for Vulpix and gave them to a Gym Trainer. Lt. Surge pointed her in the direction of a shower, "Just get rinsed off, Kid. You'll be doing it all over again later, so don't worry about getting in a real shower right now."

Vali only did a quick rinse since the water was almost icy cold and she couldn't get it to heat up. She returned to the indoor training ground where Lt. Surge was waiting with a Gym Trainer and a rather pretty looking man. The Gym Trainer was one that she vaguely recognized from one of her past visits though she wasn't sure about the name. The man was rather feminine looking with a petite and slim build that probably got him bullied a lot when he was a kid. He had long almost to his ass caramel colored hair that coiled randomly near the ends. He had dark purple doe-like eyes and pale skin that probably burned horribly in summer. He wore a black full length duster that nearly brushed against the floor, a white dress shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, a pair of black knee high boots with a heel, and a black pokeball belt sat on his waist. Rather than comment on just how pretty the guy was, she offered him a light smile as Vulpix peered at him curiously from her arms, "Hello, Sir. I'm Valkyrie Potter from Pallet Town though I prefer Vali."

The man's eyes gleamed with pleasure probably thinking she thought he might be a woman and if they'd passed one another on the side walk, she probably would've assumed he was. It was surprising to hear the rather rich baritone voice come out of his mouth, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Vali. My name is Rodrick Cross and I work with Lt. Surge on getting our abused pokemon ready to be adopted out. Today, we'll be working together."

"Rod is one of the best behavioral therapists that the League has to offer and one of my Cousins," Lt. Surge announced with a grin causing Vali's eyes to go a bit wide as Rodrick rolled his eyes, "His mother is a Joy,"

Which would explain why he's so feminine looking, Vali realized as she took a closer look at the man. Members of the Joy family almost always ended up quite feminine even if they weren't female, it also stood to reason that anyone related to them tended to go into medical related jobs even if they didn't become part of a pokemon center. Rather than comment on the obvious and likely earn the ire of a member of Lt. Surge's family, she asked the man, "Mr. Rodrick, may I ask if you specialize in a certain type of pokemon?"

Lt. Surge let out a low snort obviously having hoped she'd say something and get a show out of it. Rodrick looked pleased, "Just Rodrick, Miss. I don't specialize, but I have a tendency for psychic-types both for their talent at reading minds and because they can stop a patient from harming themselves without physical force being required."

"Just call me Vali then," Vali replied as she wondered at his team, "Do you have a Chansey or a Blissey?"

"A Blissey. She's actually my partner," Rodrick smiled as he reached for a pokeball from his belt, "Would you like to meet her?"

"Yes!" Vali grinned since the Chansey-line were awesome and a non-fire-type that she definitely hoped to get at some point.

Rodrick chuckled and hit the release button on the pokeball once he grabbed it. A Blissey appeared and promptly gifted her trainer a warm hug earning a laugh from the man. Rodrick hugged her back, "Bliss, a trainer we're going to be working with wants to meet you."

The Blissey turned towards her and promptly squealed before racing towards Vali. Vali and Vulpix promptly found themselves being hugged to death by a very adorable pink pokemon. Bliss the Blissey let go after a few moments and promptly stole Vulpix from her to coo at the adorable fox. Rather than feel offended, the fire-type master-in-training took out her camera and captured the cute sight before rescuing her rather confused little one from the affectionate happiness pokemon. Blissey pouted at her earning a laugh from the trainer, "He's far too adorable and fluffy for his own good, isn't he?" Bliss nodded with a bright smile, "My names Vali, Bliss. This is my little one, Vulpix. He doesn't have a nickname just yet since he's a little too young, but he will eventually. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Bliss let out a squealing trill in agreement before bouncing back over to Rodrick who was laughing warmly. Rodrick patted his partner on the arm, "You'll get to play with the little one later, Bliss," Rodrick looked at Vali with a pleased smile, "My partner is a very affectionate pokemon and a very good judge of character."

"I don't mind," Vali walked over as she grinned at the man while feeling glad that she'd apparently passed a test, "I've been wanting to meet a Blissey for awhile now,"

Lt. Surge cleared his throat, "I've got to get going, so Rod get down to business since I'm going to be grabbing the kid at five for another training session. Kid, your pokemon'll be returned in an hour. I've got to go tear into some tourists and hopefully get an actual challenge."

"Right," Rodrick grimaced a bit, "Try not to crush too many dreams today,"

Lt. Surge just smirked at his cousin before patting Vali's shoulder and heading off. Vali called out, "Good luck!"

Rodrick shook his head as Lt. Surge let out a bark of laughter, "I don't need luck with this group of babies!"

The door shut behind Lt. Surge and Vali looked at Rodrick curiously, "So how is this going to work?"

"Follow me to the facility where we keep those that are ready to be adopted or close enough," Rodrick answered as he began to follow after Lt. Surge to leave the room.

Before leaving the gym, Vali was made to sign a psychic contract basically stating that she wouldn't talk about it or disclose the location to anyone without League authorization. She understood and didn't mind signing the contract because it was to protect the pokemon within the facility from being harmed again. She walked about two blocks from the gym to a set of office buildings that worked as the local Ranger/League branch that every major city/town had. After signing in with Rodrick flashing a badge and a visitors pass being gifted to her, they got into an elevator and began heading downward. She set Vulpix down since he was beginning to squirm a bit, "Rodrick, how did you get into this kind of job?"

"I've always been good at figuring out how people behave and wanted to help everyone," Rodrick explained as Vali began checking over her camera, "My mother saw my gift and decided to help me find the perfect job not long after I got my Happiny. Together with Bliss and the pokemon that I began to gather together, I managed to find my perfect job and 24 years later, here I am," He looked at her curiously, "What about you, Vali? Do you have a job in mind? Surge mentioned becoming an Elite Four and a fire-type mastery,"

Vali looked up at Rodrick with a slight shrug, "I really do want to become a member of the Elite Four someday. If that doesn't work out, I'll stick with the data collecting job for Professor Oak. My photographing will probably stay a hobby."

"Any other plans?" Rodrick asked with a raised-eyebrow.

Vali shook her head, "Not really, I don't see myself becoming a desk jockey. I don't really want to become a Ranger though I know I'd have a place as one if I wanted it since my godfather is one," She looked at Vulpix who walked towards Bliss, "If I had to, I'd become an Ace."

"So you like the idea of having a job that offers freedom to you," Rodrick summarized as Bliss picked up Vulpix and began to chitter happily at the little fox, "That isn't a bad thing, it'll be dangerous though,"

"We work with beings that can spam elemental attacks and kill us if they so desired," Vali stated in a bland tone.

Rodrick let out a light laugh, "True."

"But to be honest, I don't mind the danger especially since I know my pokemon will have my back," Vali smiled as Vulpix licked Bliss' cheek, "They're family after all,"

"Family, huh," Rodrick smiled softly.

"Mhmm," Vali hummed lightly before showing Rodrick her camera, "This'll be fine, right? My godfather gave it to me as a gift,"

"Yeah," Rodrick looked over the digital camera for a few seconds, "I'm surprised you're bringing that on your journey,"

"I have a case for it," It was the only reason Vali decided to bring it along.

The elevator dinged and Bliss handed Vulpix back to Vali. They got out and Rodrick led the way through a sterile looking hallway to a metal door. Rodrick placed his badge onto the scanner and entered a code. A smooth female voice echoed through the hallway, "Welcome back Dr. Cross and guest."

The door slid open with a soft hiss as the faintest sound of gears moving reached Vali's ears. Rodrick led the way inside to reveal what looked like a modified hospital ward mixed with a pre-school playroom. A few people were in the room either playing with a pokemon or checking it over. One of them looked up, "Welcome back, Dr. Cross!"

A similar statement came from the others inside the room. Rodrick smiled at them all, "Hello, everyone! I would like you to meet, Valkyrie Potter. Vali here is going to be taking pictures of our adoptable pokemon. I think you'll all remember the Eevee from Viridian that ended up with Professor Oak?" Everyone nodded while shooting Vali curious looks, "She's the one that save him and is currently his trainer."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Vali offered them all a bright smile, "Please call me Vali. This is my Vulpix, he's around two weeks old,"

"Adorable!" One of the female workers squealed.

Rodrick led her over to a section in the play area, "With this area work?"

"It should be fine," Vali set Vulpix down, "Don't wander,"

Vulpix settled down beside her feet as Rodrick said, "Get settled, I'll go get our first pokemon and the list of the ones you'll be photographing. We'll take a break in an hour and a half for lunch."