Dinner talks and hot chocolate

Vali had trouble not giving into the urge to just ignore her table manners and gobble up her dinner as fast as possible. It was the first time since leave Pallet Town all those months ago that she'd had a home-cooked meal. It was also the first time outside of pokemon center food that she could actually eat as much as she wanted. Everything was absolutely delicious, she was definitely going to have a little bit of trouble eating trainer meals once they got back on the road again after their break. She looked at Gary when he asked, "How long will you two be here?"

"A month," Vali answered after swallowing her bite of pot-roast, "We all could use a good rest from traveling,"

"That will also give your baby Vulpix time to mature enough that being on the road won't be too dangerous," Delia added as Vali went for seconds, "Have you thought of a name for them yet?"

Vali shook her head, "No. I decided that I'd wait until my baby pokemon have had their first few battles before I give them a name if they want one. By then, I usually have some kind of thoughts on what they could be called."

"What about Pikachu?" Ash asked causing said pokemon to raise his head, "How come he doesn't have a nickname?"

"He didn't want one last time I checked," Vali answered as she reached down to pet Balto's head, "I'm planning on asking again when I evolve him,"

"When are you going to do that?" Gary asked looked at her curiously.

"After I have Professor Oak check him over to make sure any lingering poison in his system is gone," Vali drank some of her moo-moo milk, "It's very dangerous to evolve a pokemon if they're poisoned,"

Gary gained a look of comprehension on his face, "I remember reading about that in one of Gramps' books. It's because the poison can weaken a pokemon's body during evolution to the point it can die or become malformed. Right?"

Vali nodded lightly, "Yup which is why you need to keep an eye on any pokemon you have and take them to Nurse Joy if they're showing any signs of evolution. Nurse Joy can tell you a lot about what your pokemon needs when it evolves and its a good practice to make sure your pokemon are checked over any time you can."

"It can get expensive though," Gary pointed out.

"If you have a trainers license, it's actually free to have your pokemon checked over and healed by the pokemon center," Steven spoke up earning a confused look, "The fees start to pile up when you have deep examinations done on your pokemon. Even then, they're at a discount,"

"Of course, it's easier when you work for the League since they're pretty big on making sure every pokemon you have is in the best state possible for when they need you," Vali added on, "The League cuts down on a lot of costs when you work for them. Its why so many trainers do their best to get chosen for the various training programs offered,"

Ash frowned slightly, "But what if someone were to become a Pokemon Master, how would that work?"

Vali took a bite of pot roast as she tried to figure out a way to answer that question. Steven managed to work out an answer for that one, "Well that isn't something we can answer since there hasn't been a Pokemon Master in years. No one has managed to become a Master of all types not to mention place first in all the Leagues, beat all the gyms, beat all the elite fours, and beat all the champions."

"But it can be done, right?" Ash asked looking at Steven with a desperate expression on his face.

Steven nodded lightly "Yes, but it's a very long road to the point. It took the last Pokemon Master until almost the end of his life to reach that point after all."

"I'll do it," Ash vowed.

"But to do it, you'll need to grow up first which means eating your dinner and finishing up your homework," Delia told him earning a pout.

Ash grumbled softly, but resumed eating his dinner. Gary shook his head and asked, "Vali, what do you plan on doing anyway?"

"I want to become a fire-type master and eventually become a member of an Elite Four," Vali answered after swallowing what she had in her mouth, "I want to discover the mysteries of this world too,"

"I plan on becoming a steel-type master and becoming the champion of Hoenn before I turn 16," Steven told Gary when the boy turned to him, "I also want to explore every cave system in the world and take over my father's company eventually when he retires,"

"That'll be a lot of work, Steven," Delia commented earning a light shrug.

"I've been working my way towards it since before becoming a trainer, Miss Delia," Steven told her, "It might be a lot of work, but I'm willing to do it,"

Professor Oak came by not long after the boys had finished their dinner and homework. The aged Professor took Gary home after telling Steven and Vali to come by the lab after they got up in the morning. Ash had the two trainers tell him stories behind every picture that the witch had taken until it was time for him to go to bed. Delia smiled as Vali left Ash's room after the boy and his Pidgey had fallen asleep, "He really missed you."

"I really missed him too," Vali bent down to pick up Pippin when the Shinx stumbled into her, "I missed everyone a lot,"

"Do you regret leaving on your journey?" Delia asked as they headed downstairs to join Steven in the living room.

"Despite some parts of it, no," Vali shook her head with a soft smile as she scratched behind Pippin's ears, "I think it's really helped heal me from what happened in my past,"

Delia smiled softly, "It's easy to see it. You're eyes are brighter now than they were when you left," They reached the landing, "Go get settled, I'm going to go make hot-chocolate."

"Ash is going to be put out when he finds out we're drinking hot-chocolate without him," Vali teased with a slight grin.

Delia winked at her, "Better not tell him then."

Delia headed off into the kitchen and Vali moved to the living room. She sat down against Smaug's side as the Charizard snoozed a bit by the fire-place and Steven looked up from his pokenav, "Ash and Pidgey asleep then?"

"Yup," Vali released Pippin as Smaug lazily raised his head to look at her, "Falling asleep, Smaug?" Smaug snorted softly and shifted to let her lean back against his stomach, "I don't blame you, it's nice in here,"

"I'm not surprised you'd say that since you've been falling asleep in here since you first came to stay with Ash and I," Delia walked in with a tray of mugs and handed one to Vali.

"I can't say I'm surprised since it really is comfortable in here," Steven commented as he accepted a mug of hot-chocolate from Delia, "Thank you,"

"It's no problem," Delia replied as she set the tray down on the coffee table and picked up her own drink before settling down on one of the two couches.

Balto and Pikachu joined her moments later to cuddle up against the brunette haired woman earning a smile. Steven took a sip of his hot-chocolate, "This is really good, is that peppermint I taste?"

"Mhmm," Delia hummed lightly as she scratched behind Balto's ears, "Ash loves it,"

"Miss Delia, thank you again for allowing me to join your family for Christmas," Steven told Delia as Mawile curled up against his side and Lileep drowsily drooped against his legs.

"It's no trouble. No one should be alone on Christmas," Delia told him, "Have you talk to your father lately?"

"Yes. He wishes for me to thank you for allowing my pokemon and I to stay with you," Steven replied as he put down his pokenav to rub the base of Lileep's head earning a gurgling hum from the odd-plant-like creature, "He's happy that I'm not alone this Christmas with only my pokemon to keep me company,"

"Not that pokemon aren't good company," Vali added earning a light laugh.

"Very true," Steven drank some more hot-chocolate, "May I ask if there is anything I can do to repay you?"

"You've done enough already by traveling with Vali and helping to keep her safe," Delia waved off his question, "All I ask is that you try to avoid damaging the house and help keep the boys from getting into trouble when you can,"