Gym Duties including giving out pokemon

Vali ended up spending much of the afternoon and following day simply answering the younger girls questions. Nemu allowed her to release Aragorn and Elrond though kept a wary eye on her pokeballs. Aragorn happily greeted both the new beings and relished in the attention Amity bestowed upon him while Elrond settled on Vali's lap. All of them were surprised when Blaine entered the room towards the end of Vali's second day with Amity, "Brats, it's time to shove off."

"Huh?" Vali looked at Blaine in confusion, "But it's not even four yet. What's going on?"

"The League is finally budging so long as Amity goes through some extra classes on caring for Nemu," Blaine said earning a cheer from the wheelchair bound kid, "Amity will also be coming to the gym today. Doc just wants to see you every couple of days for your therapy,"

"That's great, Amity," Vali grinned at her while Amity looked at Blaine in shock.

"Really?" Amity looked up at him.

"Really, Kid," Blaine looked a bit uncomfortable, "Now c'mon, Vali'll help you change into this crap," Vali found a bag shoved into her arms, "I'm going to sign ya out and grab Nemu's pokeball for you. You brats should't take too long,"

With that, Blaine patted Amity's head before leaving the room quickly. Amity stared after him and Vali cleared her throat earning the younger girl's attention, "Let's do what he says, okay? I bet everyone at the gym's excited to see you and Nemu'll be a lot more comfortable knowing she won't be forced away from you at a moment's notice anymore, right?"

"True," Amity nodded as they set about getting her ready.

Vali spotted the feather on Amity's necklace, "You have a feather?"

It was a pretty silver one with almost invisible white and light blue's blended into it. Amity nodded as she carefully pulled on the blue shirt that someone had picked out, "It's been in my family for a long time. My Grandma gave it to me when I was born claiming she'd dreamed that the pokemon it came from wished it so. Considering the fact my mother used to say it came from Lugia, I doubt it."

Vali eyed the feather and the energy she could feel coming from it, "I don't know. It feels like energy is coming from it."

"True, but I doubt it came from Lugia," Amity shook her head as she went about get dressed, "Anyway, the gyms going to be an interesting place to live in,"

"It has been semi interesting," Vali acknowledged as she helped Amity when she began to struggle slightly, "But I've begun to get used to it,"

Not long after Amity and Nemu came to live at the gym came the dreaded two weeks were things became hectic, Vali found herself running around trying to help the elder gym trainers. Blaine didn't give out Charmander to anyone even though multiple children begged for them. He didn't even give out fire-types to just anyone either. Only a few of the kids ended up with a fire-type, they were led away from the main group to a small chamber where Vali was waiting with Blaine. The three kids broke out into excited whispers when they noticed her and she offered them a warm smile as Balto barked a greeting at them. Smaug merely snorted at them while he curled up to nap behind her. Blaine spoke while she got the small tray of pokeballs ready, "Vali here is my apprentice and will be seeing to it that you'll each get your pokemon partner. She and her partners are law. I will be nearby while she does this. You three are the only ones that will be getting a fire-type this year on Cinnabar. Someone might from the smaller islands, but there is no telling. Do not make me regret this."

With that, Blaine walked out of the room and seemingly left Vali alone with the three children. She spoke while placing the tray down onto the nearby table, "First of all, I want to say congrats. The tests were hard, but you managed to pass them and reached this point. What comes next won't be easy, the partner you pick today will be with you through it though just like Balto and Smaug were for me. Any questions before we begin?"

The lone girl raised her hand and Vali nodded to her, "How come you're not traveling to another region?"

"When a former Elite four member offers you to become his apprentice, you don't turn him down especially when you're trying to become one eventually," Vali replied with a light grin, "I'll head to another region eventually, but for now, I'm stick here where I can learn the most. Any other questions?"

One of the boys raised their hands, "We're only allowed to pick one pokemon, right? How will we know they're the right fit?"

"You'll know. It isn't about power or anything like that," Vali told him, "Meet the pokemon's eyes and talk with them while explaining your dream, you have to show your heart to them. It works both ways after all," No one had any more questions, "Now as you were told before entering this room, you won't be getting one of the fire-type starters from the various regions. This is due to Professor Oak needing to sign off on it and him having to be your sponsor, you will be given a fire-type that you'll be choosing from. I expect you three to choose between yourselves who goes first and to remember the warnings that you've been given so far, okay?"

"Yes, Miss Vali," The three chorused.

Vali eyed them carefully as she grasped the first pokeball, "Each pokemon has been bred to be easily raised by young trainers such as yourselves, but don't take that to mean they're easy. Each of them have personalities of their own much like humans and intelligence to match, you will have to deal personality clashes over the course of your journeys," She met each of their eyes while grinning, "Now shall we meet them?"

"Please!" The girl burst out earning a soft chuckle.

Vali threw the pokeball up and a male Ponyta was released, "Ponyta, the fire horse pokemon, is our first starter pokemon. This little guy can carry you across the regions many terrains with enough training, my own Ponyta, Arwen, is energetic and cheerful. They're hard working, but you'll have to work with them in the beginning to ensure they're able to master their moves. He isn't a bad choice at all for a starter."

The male Ponyta began prancing around the room practically filled with restless energy. She smiled lightly and ached to release Arwen since her Ponyta hadn't been able to spend much time with another of her kind outside of battle in so long. The three kids didn't immediately move towards the Ponyta though the girl slowly broke away towards him. She let it happen as the boy that hadn't spoken asked, "How long does it take for them to evolve?"

"Usually a year to two depending on how constantly you battle with them," Vali told him earning alarmed looks, "It also depends on the Ponyta in question and the gender. Males evolve quicker while females take a little bit longer mostly due to needing more nutrients. Age is also a factor along with breeding, the Ponyta we have here is from a rather good line and he's about six and a half months old. With dedicated training and ensuring he's healthy, he should be evolved by the Conference if not a bit sooner,"

The boy eyed the Ponyta with new interest making Vali grimace a bit internally. She took out the next pokeball and called out the pokemon inside, "Houndour, the dark pokemon, our second starter pokemon. This little girl is a loyal pup who'll stick by your side no matter what, they're a pack animal that'll do anything to keep those they care for safe. With her keen nose, you'll be able to find water sources."

Houndour eyed the group somewhat warily and moved over to where Balto was standing. The same boy that eyed the Ponyta asked, "What kind of fire power does she have?"

"They're adept at using both fire-type and dark-type abilities while also having a slew of other attacks available to them should you be willing to find TMs to use," Vali offered up earning a nod, "Any other questions?" They shook their heads and Vali released the next pokemon revealing a Pansear, "Pansear, the high temp pokemon, our second to last pokemon. They're very agile pokemon and able to use a variety of moves. Admittedly they do need to use a fire stone to evolve, they've got a rather lot of growing potential before they require one,"

The Pansear let out a cheerful cry and wandered towards the boy that had been silent since the pokemon had been released. It held out it's hands and the boy looked at it curiously before holding out his. Pansear took his hands and began dancing while cooing earning a laugh. Vali smiled softly as the other boy asked, "So it's pretty strong even before evolution?"

"Yes," Vali hesitated before saying which seemed to satisfy his curiosity, "Now I'll release our last pokemon," She released the pokemon as they all focused on her, "Litleo, the Lion cub pokemon. They're a prideful pokemon, but when it comes to their specific prides, they'll protect them. Much like the Ponyta-line, a friend of the Litleo-line will be unburned by their flames, but beware any who are enemies for their flames leave a vary painful burn,"

The cub peered at the humans before yawning and settling at Vali's feet for a nap with a flick of its tail clearly uninterested. Vali smiled in amusement at the cub's antics and bent down to scratch behind it's ears earning a soft purr. The boy that had been asking question was quick to speak up once more, "How's its attack?"

"Litleo has a decent move pool for a beginning trainer," Vali told him earning a slight scowl, "But like all starters, you'll have to find out just where they shine the most since some pokemon don't work like most of their species. Take Smaug here, he can be a bruisers like his species, but he's great at hit and run tactics thanks to the training we've put him through," She removed her hand from Litleo earning a pitiful mewl from it, "Now get to know each of them and pick your starter within the next ten minutes,"

"How come there aren't any Vulpix, Growlithe, or Magby being offered?" The boy that'd been asking questions stared at her with a scowl.

"You'd have to get species permissions for each of them," Vali replied as she moved to sit on the chair at the table, "Blaine especially has to agree when it comes to a Vulpix starter considering how their population has recently declined. The Growlithe require the local Jenny's to agree since the pup is likely coming from their kennels and more than likely are going to their most recent graduates. The Magby is tougher," She gave him a stern look, "Need I remind you of what happened to Vermilion with the Magmar? Magby might be more even tempered compared to them, but they're not something to be messed with just because you want the power their higher evolution are capable of. They're a classified a high B-rank for a reason, Kid,"

Vali hadn't really given much thought to the rankings that starters and pokemon were given by the League in awhile. As she set the timer on her pokenav, the system ran through her mind. Pokemon like Caterpie and most of the low tier bugs were E rank with Ledyba coming in at a D rank. Pokemon like Bidoof, Zigzagoon, Rattata, Pidgey, and pokemon along those lines were usually at the upper part of D to mid C. Solid C rank to B were Pikachu, various Water-type pokemon, Nuzleaf, Purloin, and like. B rank were where things got dangerous like the evolved forms of certain bug-types came to rest or basic fire-type pokemon. A rank pokemon were ghost-types no matter what they were due to the danger they could pose, Magmar, and most ice-type pokemon. S rank tended to be for the dragon-type pokemon, Tyranitar, and wild pokemon that could shift the landscape. SS-rank pokemon were Elite and Champion level pokemon released into the wild. SSS rank and above were Legendaries/ Mythical pokemon. As time passed on, the SS rank had been added to and reduced though many had lost their lives in an attempt to catch the released pokemon.

When the timer went off, Vali refocused on the world and found that everyone had a pokemon near them save for the kid that asked a lot of questions. The girl had ended up choosing the Ponyta and the nearly silent boy the Pansear. The two pokemon looked happy with their prospective partners. She offered the two a smile, "Found your partners?"

"Yes, Miss Vali," The two told her as the two pokemon let out cries of agreement.

Vali returned the two pokemon and handed over the pokeballs, "Here you are, you'll just need to rejoin the others in the room we came from."

"Thank you, Miss Vali," The two looked awed at their pokemon's pokeballs.

Vali waved them off and watched them leave before turning to the remaining kid once they'd left, "So what's the problem? You've got two pokemon left to choose from."

"I don't want either of them," The kid told her make Vali frown at him, "Neither has the power that I need to obtain my goal,"

"Power isn't everything, Kid," Vali's frown deepened at his words, "And I'm not sure if Blaine has any others available for you,"

The door opened allowed said man to enter. He looked at the last kid with a frown, "Hasn't he picked a partner, yet?"

"Apparently neither will do," Vali told her mentor, "They're not 'Powerful enough for him',"

Blaine scowled at that, "I see," He looked at the kid, "Well, I know exactly what pokemon to give you then," He turned back to Vali, "Take those two back to where we had them, we might have another batch of trainers that passed my test tomorrow."

Vali nodded as she returned Litleo and Houndour, "Of course."