Chapter 40: Solo Battle with Valerie

At the Laverre Gym:

Valerie: "Thank you for coming over to talk."

Elizabeth: "Oh, Valerie. You invited us. It will be ashamed if we don't accept it."

Valerie: "I'm glad you all decided to come to my gym. First, thank you and your team for rescuing me and my trainers."

Tony: "You're safe now. That's all we matter most."

Darwin: "It looks like you're coping with your kidnapping situation."

Valerie: "Yeah, my trainers will be able to help me. But man, that girl has the nerve to break into my gym and threaten me like that. I mean, who is she even related to? I bet the girl's family could be very disappointed."

Elizabeth: "Heh...It's funny that you said it like that..."

Valerie: "Why is that, sweetie?"

Tony: "To answer this, my sister and I are related to that crazy girl."

Valerie: *Shocked* "Seriously?!"

*Elizabeth and Tony nodded quietly. Valerie looks at Darwin.*

Darwin: "Don't look at me, Valerie. I'm not related to her."

Valerie: "So, only those two."

Darwin: *Sipping some tea to ignore this.*

Tony: "Yeah, even her brothers are with us."

Valerie: "Dear lord...That took a turn." *Sipping some tea* "What are you going to do about her?"

Tony: "The group and I need to follow and stop her from doing things she'd been doing. My sister had her list of plans she left behind."

Elizabeth: "We need to move forward but..."

Valerie: "To do that, you need to battle me to earn a badge."

*The three nodded.*

Valerie: "I see where this is going. Hm? Oh! I got it. How about one of you can take turns per day and in person? Like a solo battle."

Elizabeth: "Really? You're okay with this?"

Valerie: "Of course, it's a way to repay you for rescuing me, and probably need some time to prepare yourself to face me."

Tony: "Then, we'll accept it. *Shake hands with Valerie.*

Delphox (Brittany) POV:

After Adam left to return to his home, the others and I stayed at the Pokemon Center as our usual day, just to get over it from last night. We got some food from one of Laverre's food stores our partner brought it with their money before leaving to see Valerie. We gather each other outside of the Pokemon Center to have a picnic and also have fresh air. We ate and I noticed how good the food was. "Mmhm! This is good!" Finn says stuff the food in the mouth. "I miss this type of appetite," Geo says. "I was so hungry." Serena turns to talk to Geo, "Seriously? What happened to the sandwiches Elizabeth prepared?" She wondered and thought back as she realized, "Oh! I get it now. I forgot Nate ate most of them." Nate said he raised his head to face us. "Hey! I was hungry yesterday. I couldn't resist."

Delphox (Brittany): "I don't blame him. He's been taken along with Geo."

Raichu (Logan): "Man, I wish most of us could've seen the Z-Move stunt. But we can't risk it."

Aegislash (Jayden): "Guys, call me crazy. But do you all see Nashly have a scar on her cheek?"

Pangoro (Budo): "Huh?"

Sylveon (Serena): "A scar?"

Aegislash (Jayden): "Yeah! Geo, you were face-to-face at Nashly while you used your Battle Bond from that night. You could have seen it."

*Geo is brainstorming what Jayden was talking about until it hit.*

Greninja (Geo): "Oh my god...Oh my god! I just fucking remember!"

Aegislash (Jayden): "You saw it!"

Greninja (Geo): "Yes! I didn't know!"

Garchomp (Mateo): "I saw it too. But since when did her face get scarred?"

Decidueye (Ace): "Everyone, I'm going to say this, but Nashly got that scar from Alejandro's Grotle."

Chesnaught (Finn): "Oh? So, this was that type of accident?"

Samurott (Randy): "No, more like on purpose."

Heliolisk (Julian): "I want to know. Please tell us!"

Incineroar (Calvin): "Okay, so we all try to run away from her by going back to the Gym, along with our team. But then two Pokemon, an Alakazam and a Cacturne, appeared out of nowhere and caught both Bonnie and Diego. What makes it worse than this conversation, is they both are the top of a tall building."

Florges (Bridgette): "WHAT?!"

Tyrantrum (Daniel): "They were at a fucking building!"

Primarina (Bonnie): "It's hard to describe, but yeah."

Incineroar (Calvin): "Then Alejandro told his Grotle to slap Nashly, on the face, using Vine Whip."

The Pokemon: "..."

Decidueye (Ace): "Shocking, eh?"

Delphox (Brittany): "Very."

Greninja (Geo): *Turns left and right* "Hmm..."

Florges (Bridgette): "What?"

Geo summons Water Shuriken and throws it at the top of the tree among the leaves. He did it because he suspected he heard leaves shaking, with no gust of wind, while we were in the middle of our conversation. To our shock, a few Pokemon who had fallen from the tree were hiding, it was Serena's Pokemon. "You three have some nerve to spy on us like that," Geo says, folding his arms around. We got up and summoned our attacks in case they tried something on us. Roman quickly got up and tried to calm us down. "Hey, let's not do something we might regret. I swear we weren't going to hurt you." Serena walks to Roman with rage, "Oh yeah? Are you attempting to do that?" Roman stepped back, "What? No! That's not why we're here." Ruby, a Delphox, walks between Roman and Serena and gets herself involved with this.

Delphox (Rudy): "We're here to apologize for all the shit we caused."

Noivern (Vincent): "Missy, you really gotta think we can listen to your sh-MMMHHH!"

*Bullet is covering Vincent's mouth with his vines*

Venusaur (Bullet): "Vincent, do you want to die?"

Delphox (Ruby): *Sighs* "Cherry. The gift."

*Cherry uses her ribbons to reach the gift basket that was hidden up at the tree. She hands it to Ruby.*

Delphox (Ruby): "Here. An apology gift for all of you."

*Ruby walks to me as she gives me the gift basket.*

Delphox (Brittany): "Oh! Well, thank you for the gift."

Greninja (Geo): "That's ...kinda kind of you."

*The others withdraw their power.*

Delphox (Ruby): "Yeah, almost kind. It almost had my heart broken from the moment Bonnie looked at the three of us as monsters. We don't know if the basket won't be enough to forgive us."

Greninja (Geo): "I think it's more than enough."

Sylveon (Cherry): "Huh? Really?"

Delphox (Brittany): "Yes, it's very thoughtful that you give us this."

*Ruby runs towards Brittany and shakes her hand.*

Delphox (Ruby): "Thank you! Thank you very much! We meant so much to us!"

Pancham (Roman): "You know, you guys could consider yourself as heroes here. Just to let you all know."

After receiving a gift from them, they left and waved, saying we should meet again sometime. Then finishing our food dishes, our three trainers returned from their meeting with Valerie. "We're back," Darwin says, and then he notices a gift basket. "Who gives you the basket?" He wonders who could've given it to us, so I answer. "Serena's Pokemon came to us, unexpectedly. She says it was an apology gift." Tony came next and wondered where the rest at. Elizabeth came back a second later and got her brother's attention, "Bobby was having a call...with Grandma."

With Bobby, Hannah, and Alex - At the Pokemon Center:

*Bobby uses his Pokédex to call Grandma Marie while he, Alex, and Hannah sit to gather a table.*

Bobby: "Yeah, that's all I can list what Nashly has done."

Grandma Marie: *Sighs* *Have you told your father about this?*

Alex: "We did. He was just as shocked as you are."

Grandma Marie: *I don't get why your sister has to do this.* *Sighs* *I don't even know how to look at her after you told me.*

*They were silent for a minute.*

Grandma Marie: *Sobs* *Bobby, can I hang up? I need some time alone. Thanks for sharing this with me.*

Bobby: "It's nothing, Grandma. Goodbye."

*Grandma Marie hangs up the call.*

Hannah: "She seems upset."

Alex: "All thanks to her..."

*They get up and head to the group.*

Elizabeth POV:

The other three came back from contacting my grandmother. I wait for Alex and Bobby to arrive, they walk past me, and I follow. "How's our grandma?" I ask. Alex says when he looks at me, "She's upset and depressed. During our talk, she didn't like how Nashly acted like a villain." From that moment, I knew this turned out bad. Moments later, we talked about Valerie to our Pokemon. We decided to let one of us go face her at the gym while the rest could train. I questioned Tony and Darwin if one of them could go first, they weren't sure who.

"Ladies first," Tony said. I was stunned when Tony said it. "Wha? Why me first?" Darwin look at my brother, serious. "You don't want to battle Valerie first." Tony turns around at Darwin, "N-No. I want to battle her, but I'm...scared." I had my arms holding around me. "Scared that your team will get easily beaten?" Tony had his mouth wide open, not knowing I, his sister, would say it with no hesitation. "Oh, is it a challenge? Well, I'll show you that I can do this." Tony took his Pokeballs to put his Pokemon away as he headed out to challenge Valerie. Moments passed while Darwin and I trained our Pokemon, Tony came back with both the badge and a TM. "I'm back from the Gym." He sat down and sighed like he'd been through a rough battle with Valerie. Bobby sat a plate of food to get his energy back.

Elizabeth: "Well, that leaves two out of three. Which means one of us is facing her."

Darwin: "Hmm...I think I might take that as my turn to go to the Gym."

Elizabeth: "Yeah, then I'll be last."

The next day, Darwin brought his team to head to the Gym. For me, I was well-focused on getting my Pokemon and myself ready for tomorrow. I trained my Pokemon with Hannah when I asked her for practice, she agreed to help me train. "Okay hon, my Mawile is going to use Play Rough, so carefully know the very moment you tell your Roserade to dodge. She said as she lectured me. "You ready?" she asked. I nodded to give her a heads-up. "Zoey, use Play Rough." Her Mawile dashes towards Amy, before the attack, I inform Amy to dodge quickly as part of training. Every of my other four gave their all, except for Nate.

He tried his best to dodge Hannah Mawile's attack, but it went poorly. "Sorry, I did my best," he says, ashamed of himself. "And you did. But I know just a tool to help you."

I said while grabbing something from my bag. I took out a Steel Wing TM, for intelligent flyers Like Nate. "You serious?" he asks. I smiled and nodded. He's excited to get a new move to help him defeat Fairy Pokemon. An hour later, Darwin came back, along with TM and badge. It gives a heads-up that I'm the last one to challenge Valerie. In the early morning, I made breakfast to start the day and headed outside to train a bit before heading to the Gym. Until noon, as I face the front door to Laverre, my brother shows me some support.

Tony: "Sis, you can do this. You train for this moment."

Elizabeth: "Yeah. After we are done, we can move on to the next city."

Darwin: "We'll be out here, in case something happens."

Elizabeth: "Okay, wish me luck."

I head inside alone as I approach one of Valerie's gym trainers. Seems like one of the ladies to standing there waiting for me. "Oh, you must be the last challenger for Lady Valerie," she questions me. It seems to recall that Valerie herself told her about me, coming here. "Um, yes. I am." I reply. "I was waiting, patiently for you. I'll lead the way to challenge the gym leader." I follow her which leads to the Gym's battlefield. Then the door opens, and Valerie appears and walks to the opposite side of the battlefield where I'm standing. "I've been waiting for you to come over. Training your Pokemon must be helpful when it comes to being prepared. I hope you are ready to battle." she says as she pulls one Pokeball from her dress pocket. "I'm far ready as I will be," I say, also pulling my Pokeball. She pulls out her Maxile and I pull out Brittany. "Let the battle begin!" A gym trainer said as she announced.

With The Rest:

*Tony, Victor, and Darwin were pacing for a lookout. Their Pokemon does the same. Bobby and Alex climb up a tree to take a better look. Hannah and Amy are both standing still chatting.*

Hannah: *On her Pokédex* "This is the moment we went cuisine ourselves going to different portions of Alola."

Amy: "It seems like you are having fun there."

Hannah: "Yeah, but then after traveling, the boys and I always bump into Team Skull. It became very annoying. We decided to have a break from them by coming to Kalos."

Amy: "Aw. Dealing with enemies is no fun."

Hannah: "Right! And what about you?"

Amy: "Well, I was in Sinnoh, my team and I were minding our business to going to cities. Team Galactic was everywhere doing whatever who-knows-what. I had to deal with their shit like every day. When I decided to come here to this country, I knew this was meant to be. "

*Alex, still sitting at the top of the tree. But he spots a different small group of Nashly's friends who had arrived from the route gate to the next route. But to his surprise, Nashly is not three with them. Bobby, who is also sitting at the top of the tree, spots a couple of members of Team Flare who appear to entering from the route gate to Lumiose.*

Alex: "I spot Nashly's friends."

Bobby: "I also spot Team Flare. This could be bad news. Guys!"

*Bobby caught their attention.*

Bobby: "We got double company."

Victor: "Are you serious? Two people at the same time?"

Alex: "Yeah, it's serious. We have a split up. Someone needs to handle Team Flare."

Bobby: "And someone has to deal with Nashly's gang."

*Victor, Tony, and Amy raise their hands.*

Tony: "Victor, Amy, and I will handle Team Flare."

Bobby: "Then go for it."

*Tony ran towards Team Flare. Victor, Amy, and their Pokemon follow him."

Bobby: "That leaves me, Alex, Hannah, and Darwin to handle my sister's gang."

Alex: "Let's go people."

*They four and the Pokemon head to deal with Nashly's mischievous friends. Little did they know, that Roman was hiding among the bushes after he heard the discussion.*

Pancham (Roman): "Man, they are in some crazy shit." *Sighs* "I'mma get Serena, she'll know what to do." 

Back to Elizabeth POV:

"Brittany, Use Mystical Fire!" I say, instructing Brittany to use her move on Valerie's Mawile. The fire Brittany unleashes is powerful enough to knock out her Mawile, causing the Pokemon to faint. "Not bad. Let's see if you handle this." Valerie says when sending her Mawile to return to her Pokeball as she decides to take out her Sylveon. I switch by sending Brittany back to me and take out Amy, my Roserade to handle a Sylveon. "Sylveon, use Quick Attack!" Valerie said as her Sylveon chased to hit Amy physically. I grin which gets Valerie a little confused but then Valerie notices her Sylveon was mysteriously poisoned.

Valerie: "How?"

Elizabeth: "Don't you know? My Roserade has a Poison Point ability. When you instruct your Sylveon to use Quick Attack, it got into contact with deathly damage with poison."

Valerie: "So you trap me? Hmm. You're clever. Sweetie, use Swift!"

*A shooting star flew towards Amy.*

Elizabeth: "Amy, use Energy Ball!"

*Amy uses an Energy Ball which causes an explosion, leaving it with a gray mist.* 

I told Amy to use Poison Jab, to aim directly at Valerie's Sylveon which was super effective, and fainted very quickly. Valerie is impressed and sends her Pokemon back as she sends her last one, Mr. Mime, to battle. I told Amy to use Poison Jab again, but Valerie told her Mr. Mime to use Reflect which blocked Amy's Attack. "Use Psychic!" Valerie says the moment Mr. Mime uses Psychic on Amy, taking some damage. I sent Amy back to her Pokeball, knowing her facing a Pokemon she was weak to wasn't a good idea. I send Nate to deal with Mr. Mime, telling him to use Steel Wing to finish the job, immediately defeating Mr. Mime. I won the Pokemon battle, cheering and hugging Nate. Valerie clapped her hands to congratulate me on my winning. "Congratulations, and here is the badge and a TM," she says, handing me the items. I grab and hug Valerie. I headed out the front door and suddenly the group wasn't there, they vanished into thin air. Then Serena, a teen from the other day, rushes towards me. "You, what are doing here?" I say, confused. She says very concerned, "You need to come. Your gang needs you." I became stunned and followed her. 

With Tony and the others:

*Tony and the two defeated members of Team Flare Grunts and Aliana.*

Aliana: "You'll pay for this!"

*Aliana and the grunts fled.*

Tony: "Well, you better run!"

*Victor gets a call from Alex on his Pokedex.*

Victor: "Alex, what's up? What happened?"

Alex: *We need help. They won't seem to stop.*

Victor: "We just defeated Team Flare. We'll come back to you."

Back to Elizabeth POV:

Serena: "I know it's confusing to say, but I heard everything from Roman as he...kinda secretly spies on your friends."

Elizabeth: "It's weird you say there, but I'm glad you let me know this."

Serena: "So, recording to Roman, he overheard your group split up to handle Team Flare and some suspected group of people."

Elizabeth: "Oh...It must be my cousin's friend. But don't worry about Team Flare, my brother can deal with them. He's tough enough to handle."

Serena: "So, what are you going to do?"

Elizabeth: "I need to help my friends from my worst enemies."

I walked to the nearby route gate to see that Darwin, Hannah, along my cousins fighting in a Pokemon Battle. I pulled one Pokeball and Serena did the same. She and I ran towards the moment we pulled out our Pokemon, I took out Nate and Serena took out her partner, Ruby. "Stay the fuck back from us now or things could get worst," I say filled with anger. "Yeah, like she said," Serena says standing with me and the others. They just stand there, not moving a muscle.

Esias: "How about no?"

Efbeydy: "We wouldn't stop until we finish the job."

Elizabeth & Serena: "..."

Serena: "Mystical Fire."

Elizabeth: "Dragon Pulse."

The attack from Ruby and Nate hurt my enemies and made them run for their lives. I sent Nate back to his ball as they ran off to their next location. "Hon, you're back from the Gym. Hannah says, sending her partner back. "Yeah, I came to you thanks to Serena. I respond. My brother, along with the two others came along. They came to us after handling Team Flare and Serena excused herself, trying not to make a scene more awkward. "Hey," Tony says, as he gets Serena's attention. "Thanks...for bringing her back to us," Then Serena's Pancham came out of the bush near us to tell us something unexpected. "Y'all better need a hero group name!" Then Nate, being sick of seeing him, "Don't make me come over here and kill you!" I held Nate back so he doesn't kill him. The Pancham rush back to Serena, "Sorry about that, and good luck with your adventure. She left to return to her place. Then we head to the route gate to leave Laverre and explore for our next quest.

Chesnaught (Finn) POV:

 Through a long walk at Route 15, we have to camp for the night. Aware of our surroundings, Elizabeth decides to take out Budo and Logan to guard us from being kidnapped. She says the reason is she can't bear if one of us is in danger after the stunt Serena's Pokemon put us through and knew someone needs to be in charge of the lookout. Tony went through this bag, thinking what to cook for. "Whatcha doing? I ask. "I was going through my things, thinking what to cook for the night. But I always misplace them." He then took out ingredients and realized it was from his aunt, a day before arriving at the party. "Oh, jeez. My aunt Maria gave me these. Well, I guess I'm making curry for tonight." 

He was looking for an item to do something to cook with. I happened to find a pot that was left behind in the wild. Darwin grabs wooden sticks as Brittany lights them up with her stick. Grace uses her psychic powers to grab water from the wild. While waiting for water to do its thing, Geo does his thing by cutting vegetables using his Acrobatics and throwing them into to pot while it cooks well. Tony stirs half a portion of the curry as Bobby and Hannah are in charge of half the portion of cooking the rice. After we finish cooking, we begin to dinner ourselves.

Tony: "Bon appétit, everyone."

*We took a bite of Tony's curry and everyone loved it."

Elizabeth: "Oh my god, this is like my aunt's curry."

Bobby: "I gotta say, Tony. Your cooking is perfection."

Tony: "Thanks. I guess my cooking skills are better than ever."

The trainers chatted with each other. Then Tony got a call from his Pokédex. "Hello?" He answered. "Tony, it's your uncle." He says on the line. "I'm calling because I'm a little worried about you and the others. Where are you right now? He asks. I briefly answer to let him know our location. "We're at Route 15, Between Laverre and Dendemille. We just finished the gym challenge with Valerie and earned a badge." From now on, we just camp out in the wild, again." I take a bite to eat my cooked meal.

Uncle Luis: *That's great. Oh! What about your sister's Noivern and Darwin's partner? Are they okay?*

Tony: "They are okay. We took both of them to the Pokemon Center. They got pretty beaten up from what I recall. But they got healed up fine."

Uncle Luis: *Oh! Well, that's a relief. I got so worked up thinking about it.*

Tony: "It's stressful, I know. I can tell from that tone of your voice."

Uncle Luis: *Tony, there is another reason I call at this hour.*

Tony: "There is? I'm listening."

Uncle Luis: *I received a call from my mom...not long after I called ya.*

Tony: "Oh no..."

Uncle Luis: *Don't worry, sport, it's not always this bad. I swear I didn't expose your whereabouts.*

Tony: "What did she say on the phone?"

Uncle Luis: *Well...*

At Uncle Luis' House:

*Uncle Luis was playing with Diego. Suddenly, he got a call.*

Uncle Luis: "Man, someone is calling me."

Diego: "Aww...Dad. But we are in the middle of playing toys."

Uncle Luis: "I know. But it will be quick. I'll be back."

*Luis went to the kitchen and looked at the phone.*

Uncle Luis: (Aida. I haven't got in touch with her for a while. What does she want this time?) *Answers the call* "Hello, sister."

Mom: *Hello, brother. How are you doing in Italy?*

Uncle Luis: "..." (She honestly doesn't know I moved. I'll tag along.) *Lies* "I'm doing great. Just like same old days."

Mom: *I'm glad to hear that. I bet your sons are doing well.*

Uncle Luis: (Excuse me? You're a real excuse of a mother.) "Alejandro and Diego are doing great in Italy and probably spend time with friends. I was also wondering what your kids are doing too."

Mom: *Lies* *Uhm...Well..the four are at home helping themselves and....possibly playing.*

Uncle Luis: (You bitch! I know damn well Tony and Elizabeth are not at your home after hearing the story! Breath, Luis. You got this.) "Is that so?"

Mom: "Yeah, they missed their uncle very much."

Uncle Luis: (Say someone who wouldn't let them visit.) "So, what is the real reason you call?"

Mom: *I'm calling to ask you a question.*

Uncle Luis: (Please don't ask me about their whereabouts. Please don't ask me about their whereabouts!) "What is it?"

Mom: *If you were under Elizabeth and Tony's shoes, where could you possibly go?*

Uncle Luis: (No. No! I can't reveal this to her. I promise them I won't tell them.) "Why would you ask such a thing?"

Mom: *From what I remember correctly, you were a Pokemon Trainer back in your day.*

Uncle Luis: "Correction, was a Pokemon Trainer as a teen. Besides, you were jealous when you didn't get a chance to go outside."

Mom: *It's just a simple question, Luis.*

Uncle Luis: "You know what? Go figure it out yourself." *Ends the call quickly*

*Luis got scared, fearing for the kids' safety. He then catches his breath.*

Uncle Luis: "Calm down, Luis. Just calm down. Diego, I'm done with a phone call. Let's continue playing."

Back to Chesnaught (Finn) POV:

Uncle Luis: *It was crazy talk coming from your mother. But you're safe.*

Tony: "Oh my god..."

I look at the others, knowing they have heard the conversation between Tony and his uncle. Elizabeth is stunned and has no other words to say. She tries not to cry as she shaking in fear. Her team has to comfort their trembling trainer. Alex had to check on her. The Pokemon doesn't seem to like this, including myself. 

Chesnaught (Finn): "This is bad..."

Tony: "You think Mom is coming for us?..."

Uncle Luis: *I'm not sure. But I'll get my Pokemon to investigate, in case she tries anything.*

Tony: "Do what you had to do. I just want her to just leave us alone."

Uncle Luis: *I'll try. Be safe, everyone.*

Tony ended the call and came to confront his sister and began to cry. "It's okay, sis. Our uncle can handle her." He says, being calm. His sister isn't happy "Tony, it's not okay. Mom is onto us. Why can't she just take a hint of letting us decide what we want? Why won't she understand?" Looking at her suffering made me feel for her. "What's gonna happen next?" I asked. Tony looks at me and the others. "His Pokemon is investigating if my mom tries. Who knows she might plan something?" Darwin gets up and stretches his arms up. "Let's finish our meal and settle ourselves to bed." We finish our meal and Randy wash the dishes with his water moves. The trainers brush their teeth and Geo put the fire out. We steeled to bed by sleeping in the tents. As I could sleep, I overheard Elizabeth weeping in her sleep. Maybe the next day, we would be better.

As the group sleep, they would have to only focus on their path as Pokemon Trainers. Dealing with enemies and evil team grunts is the thing a trainer can handle. But dealing with a family relative is hard to deal with.