Cycle road

Vali decided to ride Arwen for their first day on the Cycling Road and Steven decided to ride on Metagross' back. She wanted to earn back some of what she spent while in Celadon especially since trainers on the Cycling Road tended to bet over two hundred poke per battle if not more. When they stopped to rest, Smaug, Celina, and Skarmory would work on getting the Charizard used to his new wings. While she didn't doubt that Smaug would get used to his wings soon if only through sheer determination, she knew for a fact that he would probably crash more than a few times in the endeavor which she was duty bound to take pictures of. Say what you will about her, she wanted those pictures to mark Smaug's progress and to keep in case he ever got too big headed.

Balto was running beside Arwen while Eevee sat in her lap watching the world around them. Vali kept a careful eye on Balto both because she didn't want to tire him too much and because she wanted to make sure she could return him just in case some idiot decided to speed past thus running the risk of hitting the Growlithe. Whenever they stopped for a little while whether to battle someone or to take a break, she was taking pictures of the area and the few pokemon that inhabited it. One of the interesting facts about the Cycling Road was that it contained the heaviest presence of Grimer in Kanto. Most believed it was due to the Cycling Road being man-made and so close to Fuchsia which was the heaviest polluter in Kanto though it was still better than back in her old world, no one had confirmed why it was.

Most of those attempting to become poison-type specialists ventured into the Cycling Road in hopes of catching either a Grimer or their final evolution Muk. Grimer were more prevalent then Muk for the simple reason that the League keeps the far more lethal pokemon from destroying the ecosystem and to keep down the deaths caused by them. Despite the fact that Grimer were fairly common, they were a difficult pokemon to battle especially when you were on the Cycling Road due to the amount of sewer grates on the road itself to prevent it from being flooded during storms. Despite their bodies being made of hardened sludge, they lost the ability to keep their form together when knocked out during a battle and ended up slipping into the sewer through a grate. Even if you had a psychic-type collect the sludge and keep it from falling into the sewer, any pokeball below an Ultra Ball had a lot of trouble capturing the unconscious Grimer due to not recognizing it as a pokemon.

Vali only knew this information since Professor Oak wanted all newbie trainers to understand the risks of raising a Grimer or their rarer evolved form, Muk. While Grimer and Muk could be fairly friendly pokemon when they'd been around humans for awhile, they tended to forget themselves around those they really liked. As a result, the likeliness of being accidentally poisoned or suffocated by your own pokemon increased rather heavily. It took a certain type of trainer to raise one let alone make it a monster in battle without getting yourself killed. She had long since decided against catching either pokemon since a majority of the pokemon she'd planned on catching would be canine in nature. Foul smelling pokemon did not mix well with canine pokemon no matter how much you may try to make it work. And Grimer were foul smelling, she knew that very well since she'd almost passed out that time a trainer managed to catch one and Professor Oak released it in the lab to give it a check up.

Grimer and Muk were interesting pokemon. She could appreciate just how interesting they were from a scientific point of view. They were able to create some of the most potent poisons among poison-type pokemon outside of a select few species. The League and Ranger Union had specific departments that created antidotes for just about any poison in existence using the two as they were able to mimic any poison they came into contact with. They could digest just about anything so trash disposal or hazardous waste disposal was fairly easy. They didn't breed like normal pokemon as there was a lack in any required equipment and no way for them to create an egg. Like the starfish back in her old world, Muk bred by cutting away pieces of themselves which formed into a new Grimer. Despite the lack of two parents being involved, the new Grimer still had the ability to possess an egg move from their parent.

When Steven and Vali came across a group of six Grimer, she returned Balto before dragging her scarf over her nose and mouth. It was a struggle to keep from puking up her lunch due to how foul the scent was or passing out. One Grimer was bad enough, but six was so much worse. Steven looked at her in concern as she had Arwen pause for a few moments to let the fire-type master-in-training take pictures of the Grimer group who were clustered around one of the few Oran Berry trees she'd seen so far. She took a picture of the tree which was slowly wilting as the Grimer clustered around the bottom of the tree. Steven spoke as she finished taking photo's, "Are you alright?"

Vali shook her head as she put away the camera and urged Arwen on once more. Steven followed her lead and they made their way away from the Grimer. Pulling down her scarf once they were far enough away, she said, "Grimer plus a sensitive nose is a very bad combination."

Steven offered her a sympathetic look as they continued moving down the Cycling Road after she released Balto again, "While I can see the benefits of a sensitive nose, I can also see the drawbacks."

"Luckily, Koga doesn't have a Grimer or Muk on his regular team," Vali had no wish to see what would happen if she had to face on of those.

"What does he usually use?" Steven asked as they reached one of the break areas.

"Usually, he tends to use a Venomoth, Nidorino, and a Golbat," Vali answered after thinking about it, "Depending on the amount of challengers, he may use either a Beedrill, Weezing, Gulpin, or Seviper. Of course, he could also use an Arbok or Ariados," She got off of Arwen's back and grabbed her bag before moving to one of the picnic tables since it was about time they took a break, "He could use any number of poison-type pokemon. For you, I'd worry about dual-types since he'll probably look you up the moment he finds out you're going to challenge him. While you have pokemon with a resistance to poison-types, he'll be looking for ways to insure you won't have an easy time at the gym,"

"Right," Steven followed her example as Balto and Arwen settled down next to the table as Metagross hovered beside them, "He's up for the Elite Four, isn't he?"

Vali shook her head, "Not yet. From what Professor Oak told me, Koga still has a couple of years before he can qualify for the position. By the time Ash starts traveling, he'll probably be up for it."

They released their pokemon who began exploring the area or attempting to fly in Smaug's case. Steven looked at her curiously, "What do you mean by that?"

"As a rule, a Gym Leader cannot become a member of the Elite Four unless certain qualifications have been met," Vali held up a finger, "One, the Gym Leader must have an Elite quality team which means beating one of the Elite Four trainees currently being trained and last at least seven minutes against the strongest pokemon on the Champions true team," She raised a second finger, "Two, the Gym Leader must have someone to take over for them at the gym because they cannot hold two high titles in Kanto save for the title of ACE," She raised a third finger, "Three, the Gym Leader must prove that they have proficient knowledge of their chosen type and have the ability to fight against all weakness of said type," She raised a fourth finger, "Four, the Gym Leader must pass the Test,"

"The test?" Steven quirked an eyebrow at her as he took a water-bottle out of his bag.

"Not test, Test," Vali corrected as she grabbed one of her strawberry lemonades, "The Test is something that's been passed down from generation to generation of Elite. No Elite can become a member of the Elite Four without passing it nor can a champion of Kanto become the true Champion without passing it. I don't know all the details, but it pushes examinee to the limit. No one has ever become an Elite or the true Champion without passing the test,"

"What do you mean by 'true champion'?" Steven asked as she drank some of her lemonade.

Sighing softly, Vali capped the bottle and explained, "You can become a champion of Kanto without passing the test, but you'd be little more than a figurehead."

"That sounds kind of..." Steven trailed off.

"Fucked up?" Vali offered earning a nod, "Yeah, but it's to prevent a bad person from having control of the region. The League doesn't want Kanto to be in a position where its led by someone who would see the world under their thumb or a weak willed person that would be easily bribed by people," She could tell he wasn't convinced, "Basically, they don't want someone like Tom Riddle/Voldemort or Cornelius Fudge running Kanto,"

"That makes a lot more sense," Steven shook his head, "I never would have guessed,"

"Every region probably has something similar in place," Vali offered earning a contemplative look, "Especially since no one wants another civil war or a great war on their hands,"

Steven shuddered a bit, "Probably."

Vali couldn't blame him. The idea of war wasn't something she enjoyed thinking about. The wars of her old world were unpleasant to think about. The wars of the pokemon world were even worse. Muggles with their guns, tanks, military ships/planes, and their nukes. Magicals with their war-time spells, curses, magical creatures, and rituals. The two were bad especially when put together, but they weren't anywhere near as bad as wars in the pokemon world. Regions with powerful pokemon that could reshape the world maps at their fingertips, weapons powered by pokemon that could wipe out entire regions if they so desired to create them, and legendary pokemon that could wipe out all life on the planet if they so desired. So of course, war wasn't something she enjoyed thinking about especially when human stupidity caused most if not all of them.

While a peaceful world for the most part, the pokemon world had seen its fair share of wars. Most of them occurred in the distant past, the largest ones occurred as the regions formed and the clans of pokemon tamers fought for supremacy. Wars fought over resources, powerful pokemon, and even the legendaries, the history of this world was one bathed in blood. The wars that had been fought against the more powerful Legendaries such as Groudon, Kyogre, and Yveltal. The civil wars that occurred over misunderstandings or misguided attempts to get more power. And so much more, the pokemon world could be as violent as her old one if not more.