Forest fire Pt. 1

Steven commented on Eevee's behavior during their run around the training field they were using for their morning training, "Is it just me or is Eevee trying to let you get closer to him."

"I think that he's actually going to try putting his trust in me," Vali answered as they ran together, "I don't know why, but I'm not going to look a gift Ponyta in the mouth. It's more progress than he's showed since Professor Oak sent him to me,"

"So you're just going to go with the flow?" Steven asked earning a nod.

"What else can I do?" Vali was just glad that Eevee seemed to be trying.

Zaria yawned as she sat down at the table Vali and Steven chose to eat lunch at, "Morning."

"It's nearly two, Zaria," Vali pointed out earning a shrug, "Were you up late last night?"

"Mhmm. Dark-types are easier to train at night because that's when they're at their best," Zaria picked up her cup of coffee, "So have you two decided when you're going to face Lt. Surge? I got my battle with him in two days,"

"We scheduled ours for two weeks from now," Steven answered earning a raised eyebrow.

"Why two weeks? Why not sooner?" Zaria asked them curiously.

Vali answered the question after swallowing the food in her mouth, "To make sure our pokemon are prepared for the battle ahead of us."

"I guess that makes sense," Zaria shrugged lightly, "Where will you two be headed after this?"

"Celadon," Steven answered as Vali's mouth was full, "Then Fuchsia, Saffron, Cinnabar, and finally Viridian,"

"So you're going after the hardest gyms in the badge run, huh?" Lance commented as he walked up with his own tray of food, "Nice to see that at least one of my future elite four members isn't chickening out on the hard stuff,"

Vali shook her head lightly, "I still haven't decided if I'll shoot for elite four yet. I kind of need more than two fire-types to be considered a master. Besides, you can't make someone a member of the elite four especially not in Kanto," Elite four were the final defense of a region alongside the champion for a damn good reason, My pokemon aren't even close to elite level."

It would take a few years for that to happen even under the direction of Blaine if she managed to get him to teach her. Vali was about to say something when all the pokedexs in the room went off. She took out her pokedex and heard Lance mutter, "Oh shit."

Oh shit was right, Vali had to stare at the League alert running across her screen:

All able body trainers in the vicinity of Vermilion city are to report to the gym immediately. Code Gaia Flare.

Upon reaching the gym, all trainers were directed through a series of stairwells and a tunnel into a large cavernous room lined with crates. By the time all the trainers had gathered only a sixth of the room was filled up, Vali stuck close to Steven, Lance, and Zaria as the steel-type master muttered, "There's fifty trainers here."

"What the fuck does code Gaia Flare mean anyway?" Zaria asked looking around at the slightly panicked faces of the trainers around them.

"It means there is a big enough wild fire going on that they're calling in everyone they can to help," Vali answered earning a surprised look, "Didn't they teach you that before you came to Kanto?"

"No well not with that code name," Lance shook his head, "Would have been nice if they had,"

"I'll see if I can get a list of all the codes we have and give them to you. If you're going to be in Kanto, you need to know what's going on if stuff like this happens," Vali would have to talk to Professor Oak to make sure he got the list sent to every foreign trainer just to be safe, "I am not looking forward to this,"

Vali hoped that she wouldn't have any visions if she ended up near the blaze. Lt. Surge cut off all conversation, "Shut it, Maggots!" The man was in full on command mode and every snapped to attention immediately, "For those not in the know, Code Gaia Flare means a massive wild fire is occurring nearby. The Rangers aren't able to contain the blaze as well as help the various wild pokemon out of danger. The League is deploying ACE trainers, but they need our help as well due to how large the blaze is. You'll be divided into groups based on your pokemon, their typing, and your time as a trainer," He pointed to the far wall where a number of computer consuls and gym trainers were standing, "Form lines there and get your pokedex scanned. If you even think about disobeying, I'll have your license suspended and your pokemon taken away immediately," When no one moved, Lt. Surge barked, "Did I fucking stutter? GO!"

The lines moved fairly quickly and soon Vali found herself in a group with Zaria. The gym trainer in charge said, "Okay, we're going to be working on snuffing out the blaze near the edges. Each of you have either Rock or Ground types at your disposal, you're going to have them dig up large quantities of dirt and fling it into the fire."

Vali raised her hand and the Gym Trainer acknowledged her, "I have a fire-type that knows dig as well as a Pikachu that knows it too."

"Your fire-type, what is it exactly?" The Gym Trainer asked her.

"A Growlithe. I have a Charmeleon as well," Vali added earning a nod.

"You'll probably have an extra job once we get this shit started, so keep your ears open. Have that Growlithe and Pikachu help out," The Gym Trainer ordered.

Even from the 'safe' distance, Vali could feel the sheer heat coming from the wild fire. Idril and Terra were scared but she kept them as calm as she could. Idril taught Terra how to use Dig with Balto and Pikachu. Smaug, Arwen and her were flinging the dirt that the quartet brought up into the blaze as fast as possible with her using some of her magic to make it easier. She pulled her scarf up higher over her nose when it began slipping down while making a mental note to get a water-type as soon as she could if only to prevent causing a blaze like this. While unsure how she knew it, the blaze had been stared by a fire-type move from an fire-type. She supposed it had something to do with her inner flame which only made her want to know more about it.

Eventually, Vali had to return Idril and Terra as the two were lacked the same stamina as Balto and Pikachu. Arwen only kept up because she was a Ponyta and had been running with the herds since she was born. Once the two were recovered, she set them back to their work while inwardly chuckling at the fact Terra was snacking on the soil as she dug. Considering she needed the nutrients the dirt provided and that it was helping her stay strong, the fire-type trainer wasn't going to protest.

As Vali's muscles began to protest, a Gym Trainer ran up to her with an unfamiliar ranger, "Oi! Potter!"

"Yes, Ma'am?" Vali stopped as did her pokemon.

"Return all your pokemon safe for the Growlithe and Ponyta," The Gym Trainer ordered earning a confused nod as she did as she was told, "You're going with Ranger Mor,"

The Gym Trainer raced off leaving Vali, Balto, and Arwen looking at the Ranger with interest. The Ranger offered her a warm grin, "Nice to finally meet you, Vali. Sirius told me a lot about you."

"Nice to meet you, Ranger Mor," Vali replied with an eye roll, "Word of advice, don't believe everything that old dog says about me,"

Ranger Mor let out a laugh, "Right. Anyway, have you ridden that Ponyta of yours before?"

"No. Since I've been working on getting her used to me and training her up, I haven't really had the time," Vali looked at Arwen who perked up a bit, "Why?"

"Looks like you'll get your chance," Ranger Mor answered as he released a Rapidash, "This here is Gene, he's my buddy. You're going to be following us as closely as possible through the blaze. We're going to be looking for pokemon that might have been trapped which is where you're Growlithe comes in,"

With that, Vali was put through a rushed lesson on how to ride a Ponyta bare back which was the safest thing to do in this kind of situation.