Ah...

It's a creature she wasn't expecting to see, nor was it one she was familiar with. Corviknight was a popular choice of aerial Pokemon among prison offices, both for its ease-of-training, and its intimidation factor. Comparatively, Skarmory was a far more difficult prospect to train, and its viciousness often proved more a hindrance than a help. At least, she always assumed that to be the case, but that was just that: An assumption, and nothing more.

It was odd, to see the bird in this underground cave. Valerie would've thought it would prefer to soar in the open skies, instead of being confined to such a cramped and constricted space. Perched upon a roost of stone, it seemed out of place without blue skies above it. However, as her eyes looks the beast up and down, they settle on a gaping crack in its steel armour, a chasm upon the body and reaching across the wing. That certainly made things make more sense. Skarmory had probably lost a fight, and retreated to the safety of the caves so that it could recover in peace. With such a flaw in its carapace, it evidently wasn't operating at 100%. Depending on how severe the damage to the wing was, it was likely closer to 50%.

...It felt a little cruel, to catch it in such a state. It hardly seemed like the right or the noble thing to do. But, as far as she knew, it wasn't against the law to catch an injured wild Pokemon. Besides, she couldn't afford to pass up such an opportunity to procure such a powerful ally. Plus, it would heal far better in a Pokemon Centre than it would out here in the wild. The more she justified it to herself, the more reasonable it seemed, and before long, she was convinced.

Wordlessly, she crept as close as she thought was was safe, and once she reached the absolute limit of Skarmory's notice, she threw her Pokeball.

---

Catching.