The battle between Traveling Partners

The battlefield was a rock one as Vali strode into the trainers box with Aragorn in his usual spot and Eevee sitting on her shoulder which had to be a surprise to the crowd. Steven walked into the other one and waved earning a grin from Vali as she did the same. The announcer started up moments later once the Referee had reached his spot, "Folks on this fine day, we have the second to last round of the Semi-Finals of the Indigo League! In the Green Corner, we have Valkyrie Potter-Black from Pallet Town here in Kanto!"

The crowd roared with many shouting her name and Vali waved to them. She shouted out, "I hope you all enjoy the match. Win or lose, I hope my pokemon and I light a fire within your hearts that burns brightly for the ages!"

The crowd cheered again earning a laugh from the announcer and Steven shook his head with a chuckle. The announcer continued once the cheers died off, "And in the Red Corner, we have Steven Stone from Mossdeep City in Hoenn."

The crowd cheered loudly again as they shouted Steven's name. Steven waved to them and shouted, "I hope you all enjoy this battle as well."

The referee called for them to begin the battle. Vali had talked with each of her pokemon before the battle and decided on a basic line-up. While her first pokemon would be a little surprising and might disappoint a few people considering how much she'd done in the Conference so far, she didn't really care especially since he'd asked to battle. He wanted to be given a chance to show off how much he'd grown especially to someone who'd been there back from the beginning. She grabbed Pippin's pokeball and released the Luxio as Steven did the same with Blastoise. The announcer shouted, "Well that's a surprise, it seems that Vali has a Luxio."

"You're using Pippin? Is that smart, Vali?" Steven asked looking a bit concerned.

Vali shrugged as Pippin looked at Blastoise with determination in his eyes, "Pippin asked and he deserves the chance to try at the very least. I had a feeling you'd be using Blastoise in the first match," She smirked a bit at Steven, "Besides, you're underestimating Pip just a bit, don't you think?"

Pippin charged forward has his form blurred and multiple copies began to appear. Each tripping in time with creating a mass of confusion, Blastoise looked a bit confused, but quickly responded with Water Gun to get rid of the copies only to find them continually replenishing. It cut off the water as a Thunder Bolt raced down the Water Guns to its canons. The move was still slightly uncontrolled, but its speed was fast enough that Blastoise couldn't stop the attack fast enough. As Blastoise shouted his pain, Pippin lept from his clones and raced forward to use Thunder Fang-Crunch which they still needed to name now that he'd managed to get it down. Blastoise retaliated with a devastating Brick Break that sent Pippin flying followed by a Hydro Pump that definitely had to hurt especially as it drove Pippin into the ground. Pippin managed to force Blastoise to stop by sending another Thunder Bolt through the water. Based on how loudly Blastoise screamed, it must've been a lot more powerful than the first one.

Pippin hacked up water and stood up on shaking paws. Though despite being water logged, he wasn't ready to give up and Vali understood. Pippin raced towards Blastoise again and used his Thunder Fang-Crunch combo. Blastoise growled grabbed at Pippin who let go and backed away only to have to start dodging Icy Winds as the turtle began using Iron Defense on himself which would making defeating it annoying later. Pippin tripped over his paws allowing Blastoise to hit him with a Water Pulse followed by an Icy Wind to the tail which froze the end and began causing him to trip up even more than before. Blastoise began hitting Pippin with increasing accuracy and tanked the electric attacks that the Luxio managed to get off. Even when Pippin managed to break free of the ice, Blastoise was able to beat badly.

A yowl and hiss left Pippin as he went flying once more only to come down harder than ever as Blastoise backed it up with a light based attack that definitely hurt. He struggled to get up feeling far more worn and torn then he could remember; However, he couldn't stop moving forward with the battle and let Vali recall him yet. He refused to give up even if it meant the pain got worse, Vali and the pack were counting on him to weaken Blastoise just a bit more. He'd do it for them even it meant staying in the pokemon center for a while. He forced himself up with defiance and determination as an electrical fire seemed to explode through him. Everything went blank for a moment before more power than he had before seemed to be available to him and new instincts appeared though one remained constant: Protect the pack no matter.

Vali watched with slight disbelief as Pippin evolved and wondered how the hell two of her pokemon could evolve during a Conference. Just as she was about to return him, he lept towards Blastoise and resumed the battle with new power. Clearly, he was one of the pokemon able to battle right from the start though she'd need to return him fairly soon. Pippin attacked with Thunder Fang-Crunch while also surprisingly chaining it with Spark which he'd been unable to do before. Most likely it was the heightened hormones of evolution that allowed for it, she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth since he'd likely be able to do it later on.

Blastoise roared and threw Pippin off with an Ice Punch followed by a Flash Cannon. Pippin looked about ready to continue, but Vali stopped the fight, "Pippin, I think that's enough," He looked at her and she smiled softly, "You've done well, Pip. I'm so proud of you especially given the unexpected happenings. You've done enough. I think it's time for the others to take over."

Pippin looked hesitant, but nodded as the Referee called out, "Valkyrie Potter-Black, Do you forfeit your Luxray?"

"I'm forfeiting him," Vali confirmed as she returned Pippin and putting his pokeball away before grabbing Elrond's, "Come out and battle with me, my friend," Elrond appeared and looked around curiously, "Pip evolved,"

Elrond's eyes widened slightly, "We'll have to celebrate, but that's for later. For now, we need to take down Blastoise," Elrond narrowed his eyes, "Quick?"

"Quick. We have no idea who he'll send out and he still has all six pokemon," Vali warned earning a nod.