Secrets revealed in Cerulean

"...And I was really hoping you would take the time out of your busy schedule to give a lecture or two on Steel-types," Vali heard as she walked into the cafeteria after dropping off Smaug.

Vali spotted Steven standing with a rather pretty red haired woman with bright green eyes. She walked over, "Steven."

"I thought you would be battling a bit longer," Steven smiled at her.

"Smaug evolved during my last battle and I thought it best to get him checked out at the pokemon center," Vali replied looking at the woman curiously, "I am Vali Potter,"

"Grace Waterflower," The woman answered with a light smile, "Congratulations on your pokemon evolving. If I may ask, what is he?"

"He was a Charmander," Vali said earning a soft laugh, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am. I'm hoping to challenge your gym in a few weeks once I get in some training against water-types,"

"You must be one of those trainers sponsored by Professor Oak," Grace said earning a nod, "If I may ask, would you care to give a lecture at some point while you're here? We don't have many trainers traveling through here at this point in the season,"

Vali flushed lightly and shook her head, "Sorry, Ma'am. I would, but I'm not that good at public speaking."

Vali didn't like speaking in front of a lot of people. She would have to get used to it eventually what with how big the League Conferences were. Grace looked down for a second before brightening, "You need to get some experience battling water-types, don't you?" Vali nodded slowly not seeing where she was going with this, "I can set up a battle between you and my three daughters. They're not very good yet, but it is experience."

"This is if I give a lecture, isn't it?" Vali asked earning a nod, "I don't know..."

"It isn't very many people," Grace assured her, "Just maybe ten little kids at most and a handful of adults,"

"Well," Vali looked at Steven and he gave her an encouraging smile, "I guess I could do that,"

"Great," Grace looked at Steven, "And you, Steven?"

"I don't see why not especially if it may convince someone to take an interest in becoming a Steel-type trainer," Steven said earning a squeal of joy from Grace.

Vali stiffened as she was pulled into a hug by the woman and didn't relax even when she was released. Grace beamed at them not seeming to notice Vali's frozen form, "Thank you both! I'll come by tomorrow with information and schedules."

Vali stared after Grace as she tried to calm her nerves. When Steven placed a hand on her shoulder, the fire-type master in training flinched and moved away on instinct only to inwardly curse a bit for the action. She looked at him with a sheepish expression noting his concerned look as he asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Vali hated herself just a little for lying to Steven, "I think I'm just going to take a small nap. I'm not hungry right now,"

"Are you sure?" Steven asked earning a fake smile from her.

"Yeah. I'll see you later," Vali said before heading towards her room.

As soon as she reached it, Vali shut and locked the door before placing her back against it as she breathed out sharply. She slid down the door to sit on the floor as Balto looked at her in concern. She blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. She reached out to him as her other pokemon released themselves from their pokeballs. She hugged Balto to her chest and burrowed her face in her soft fur as she murmured, "I hate it. I hate the fact that if I'm suddenly touched or hugged by strangers, I end up freezing up. I hate that I can't stop those reactions," Balto let out a whine as Pidgey, Pikachu, and Sandshrew moved to surround her as best they could, "I hate them. I hate the fact that my own kin caused this to happen. I hate them so much, but I hate myself even more sometimes. I hate the fact that I wasn't strong enough to stop them or that I wasn't normal enough for them to love me. I hate that they couldn't love me. Why was it so hard for them to love me?"

When Vali didn't come down for dinner or to pick up Smaug, Steven got worried and headed up to her room. He tried knocking on the door, but received no answer. Frowning, he called out Metagross and asked, "Can you find out what's going on with Vali?"

Metagross let out a metallic groan before doing as he asked, "Friend Vali is asleep against the door with her pokemon curled around her. It seems that she had a breakdown and is currently having a nightmare. We cannot find out why unless we have her permission both out of courtesy and because it would be damaging."

Steven frowned wondering what had caused Vali to have a breakdown and a nightmare. Could it have something to do with Grace hugging her? If so, why? Inwardly sighing, Steven ordered, "Lift them out of the way so we can get in."

Metagross made an affirmative sound and glowed lightly prompting Steven to try the door only to find it locked. Grimacing, he had Metagross unlock the door. He didn't enjoy invading Vali's privacy, but he was worried about her. Entering the room, he found Vali's pokemon surrounding her with concerned expressions. Sandshrew was crying and nuzzling Vali attempting to get her to wake up. He walked over to the bed as he heard Vali whisper, "N-no. Please Uncle Vernon, I didn't mean to. Please no. No. No. No!"

Steven's eyes widened and he quickly worked on waking her up, "Vali, you need to wake up."

Vali shot up within seconds breathing hard and looking around with a fearful expression on her face. She flinched at the sight of him whispering, "S-steven?"

Swallowing at the panicked expression on her face, Steven spoke in a measured tone, "I was worried when you didn't show up for dinner or to pick up Smaug from Nurse Joy. I came up to find out what was wrong and when you didn't answer

the door, I had Metagross check on you. He said you had a breakdown and were having a nightmare. I couldn't leave you alone knowing that, so I had Metagross get us inside."

"O-oh," Vali's face flushed slightly though that didn't hide how pale she was, "S-sorry to worry you,"

Steven frowned at Vali. He didn't want to push her, but that nightmare she was having had made him suspicious. No, he'd already had his suspicions since the Eevee incident. With how she'd reacted and the look in her eyes, the suspicious had formed. All the little flinches, tensing, and so many other things had increased his suspicions. He spoke softly, "Vali, I'm going to ask a question. You don't have to give me any details. I just want the truth. Okay?"

Vali's eyes widened and fear filled her eyes, "S-steven."

Steven flinched a bit at the fear, but went on. He needed to know if only to offer her a way to vent since she clearly needed it. He kept his soft tone, "The answer you give won't change my thoughts about you, but I need to know if only to make things easier on you," He watched her swallow and slowly nod, "Were you abused, Vali?"

Vali flinched with wide eyes a low sounding whimper slipped from her throat. She shook slightly as Smaug released himself from the pokeball that Steven had been planning to return to her. The Charmeleon got onto the bed and glared at him with a warning growl. He ignored the fire-type as he focused on Vali as she slowly curled inward on herself. He was mentally cursing himself for not finding a better way to breech the subject, but there really wasn't a good way to do it. Vali's breathing became sharp and harsh causing Metagross to comment, "It seems she is having a panic attack."

Steven mentally scolded himself for not waiting, but he carefully reached out making sure Vali could see all his movement. Metagross kept Vali's pokemon immobile which was a good thing since they all looked ready to attack him even Sandshrew. He picked Vali up gently and settled on her bed before settling her in his lap. He tried to think of how to calm her down and recalled one of the few memories he had of his mother. Whenever he wasn't feeling well or had gotten scared, she'd always sang to him. He wasn't much of a singer, but he could hum. Taking a deep breath, he began humming softly. It took awhile before Vali began to relax against him and slowly uncurled from her ball. Eventually, she laid her head on his shoulder and murmured a quiet, "Yes."

Steven flinched a bit at the brokenness of her voice, but kept humming. Metagross released her pokemon and they cautiously curled around him. Vali grabbed Sandshrew and cuddled the little ground-type. When he stopped humming, he said, "I'm sorry for scaring you and bringing up bad memories, but I had to know if my suspicions were correct."

"How did you-" Vali pulled away to look at him in shock.

"I started getting a bit suspicious back during the Eevee incident," Steven explained making her flinch a bit at the reminder, "From there, it was little things like you flinching a bit at loud noises, stiffening if I touched you, and things like that. It wasn't until Metagross said that you had a breakdown and were having a nightmare that everything kind of clicked," He winced slightly, "I'm sorry for not finding a better way to breech the subject, but I was worried,"

"I...I understand," Vali murmured looking down at Sandshrew, "I...I don't like talking about it,"

"You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to," Steven told her as he watched her calm down further, "I'm here if you want to talk about it. I may not have been..." He shook his head lightly, "But I do know that it helps to have someone to vent to even if they don't understand things fully,"

"I don't want pity," Vali frowned at him.

"I'm not pitying you," Steven could never pity her, "If anything, I admire you for being able to make it through that point in your life. You may not be whole because of it, but you're alive which means you weren't broken by them,"

Vali's eyes were a bit wide and Steven was struck by how cute she looked when she was surprised. She blushed lightly and shook her head, "I..."

Steven had a feeling she wanted to get out of this situation, "How about we get you all something to eat? I doubt you've eaten lunch or dinner which isn't a good thing considering our life-style."

Vali nodded quickly and scrambled to get off the bed with her pokemon. Everyone's stomach's rumbled and they headed down to the cafeteria which wouldn't be closing until after eleven. After they'd eaten, Steven offered, "Do you want to stay with me tonight?"

Vali shook her head, "I'll be fine."

Steven shrugged knowing that he couldn't push her, "My door is always open if you need it."

Vali stared at him for a moment before her lips quirked into a small smile and she nodded, "Thank you."