Return of Zaria

Sometimes, Steven had trouble believing how his life had gone since he'd met Valkyrie 'Vali' Rosebud Potter. His journey through Hoenn and the training he'd done in order to reach his current level hadn't been nearly so surprising or odd. If he'd been told about how his journey in Kanto had gone so far before going on said journey, he wouldn't have believed it was possible. Saving an abused pokemon and catching a shiny pokemon weren't that odd, he had his own shiny Metagross after all. Getting along with the various gym leaders save for Sabrina wasn't that odd, he had his own thoughts and feelings about the gym leaders he'd encountered. Meeting powerful wild pokemon wasn't exactly normal, it still happened sometimes. Meeting a girl who had magic and an inner flame like a fire-type pokemon, it wasn't normal at all.

Steven didn't regret meeting Vali. He doubted that he ever would regret meeting and agreeing to travel with her. He might've never found out that Sandshrew could scent out evolutionary stones or other valuable stones if the notes Professor Oak had given them were telling the truth. He wouldn't have enjoyed his journey through Kanto as much nor have learned as much as he did. Sure, he could have done without her visions and seeing how badly they effected her. Vali was that one of the kind person that you just couldn't let go of when you met them. Out of all the traveling companions he could have had, she was perhaps the best one for him. After all, she made life interesting.

Taking a deep breath, Steven tried to ignore the slight headache building up, "You want to participate in tournaments that are of questionable legality because..."

"They're good experience and the money isn't too bad either," Vali offered him a sheepish smile.

That was another thing Steven liked about Vali, she didn't abuse the fact that he was rich and had a lot of money. She preferred to do things on her own unless they involved hiring a guide like through Mount Moon which he had insisted on. At the very least, she didn't run through all the money she earned like some newbie trainers had a habit of doing and she put her pokemon first too though not to the point where her health suffered. Looking at her hopeful expression, he knew that she really wanted to do this and it wasn't like it was a bad idea though he really didn't want to think about what would happen if the tournaments were illegal. Sighing, he suggested, "Let's ask Nurse Joy about the legal tournaments being put on now."

Vali grinned brightly and hugged Steven, "Thank you, Steven!"

Seeing her so happy made agreeing to stuff like that worth it, Steven admitted as he returned the hug.

Nurse Joy looked a bit amused by Vali's questions about the tournaments currently going on, "There is the Fire Vs Grass tournament, but the deadline to participate was two hours ago."

Vali groaned softly, "Dang it."

"There are a few other tournaments going on, I can give you a list and their location if you'd like," Nurse Joy offered causing Vali to perk up and nodded enthusiastically, "I'll be right back,"

Vali heard a laugh and turned her head to find Zaria, "Zaria!"

"Hey, Vali," Zaria greeted her with a slight grin while Zorua barked in greeting, "I was wondering when you two would show up. When did you arrive?"

"Three hours ago give or take a few minutes," Vali was glad to see the girl, "How have you been?"

"Not bad especially since I'm participating in the Fire Vs Grass tournament," Zaria answered making Vali groan, "Didn't have a chance to sign up for it?"

Vali nodded with a sigh, "I actually forgot it was going to happen since no ones said anything about it since I met that girl in Cerulean."

Zaria offered her a sympathetic smile, "It's too bad. I was actually hoping to battle you in the tournament, but I'll just have to settle for a few battles outside of it," Zaria looked around, "So where's Steven?"

"He went to get something to drink from one of the cafeterias," Vali smiled when Nurse Joy returned with the list, "Thanks, Nurse Joy,"

"It's no problem," Nurse Joy handed her the list, "Good luck,"

Vali and Zaria moved over to the waiting area to catch up while they waited for Steven to return. Zaria took the list and looked it over, "Man, I'm definitely going to have to sign up for some of these."

"They're good experience and the money is definitely going to be decent," Vali took back the list, "I want to make sure I get some decent TMs while still having money in the bank not to mention winter clothes and other supplies,"

"Didn't you get 10,000 poke as prize money from that tournament?" Zaria asked earning a nod, "Did you already spend it all or something?"

Vali shook her head, "I haven't spent any of it. I'm saving up half of it for a rainy day."

Zaria actually looked a bit surprised, "That's a smart idea."

"I also sent my evolutionary items home to prevent accidental evolution or theft," Vali was going to be working on some serious theft prevention magic when she had a chance.

Sometimes, Vali wished she had gone for Ancient Runes rather than Divination. It would've been smarter especially since they didn't require much magic to work which was perfect in a situation like this. She regretted joining Ron in Divination despite her interest in the Runes, but she'd been interested in Divination as well. Divining the future had been interesting up until Trelawney started predicting her death and burning way too much incense. She wasn't the only one regretting not taking Ancient Runes. Sirius hadn't taken Ancient Runes either and had cursed up a storm when he realized just how helpful they would've been in this world.