Gym trainers and Interludes

"Come on," An eleven year old boy with a Furret curled around his shoulder, "Can't you move the gym battle up a day?"

Vali inwardly groaned at the demanding little shit, "No, Mister Folk. Gym Leader Blaine is scheduled to battle at the time you wish to and there are no other slots open on that day," She really hoped Gary never became like this asshole, "Now I've got an opening for 10 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm for you to choose from, Mister Folk."

The boy grimaced at her, "1 pm."

Vali nodded and began typing his information into the computer making sure to put a note into the compute for Blaine about his attitude like Jackson had requested. She finished not long after, "Alright there we go, you're all set, Mister Folk," She handed him back his pokedex earning a slight huff, "Please arrive at the gym on time. The 1 pm slot is very popular and Gym Leader Blaine does have many duties to attend which means not waiting on late challengers."

The boy scowled at her before turning and stalking off. Vali slumped into her chair with a low sigh and rubbed at her face. A chuckle sounded from beside her, "Figured out it's not all glamorous to be one of us yet?"

"You'd think they'd be a bit more polite," Vali complained earning a snort from Jackson as he took a seat.

"You'd think, but nope," Jackson shook his head and looked over the kid's profile for a couple minutes only to snort, "Kid's going to lose his spot for sure. He's been late to his first two gym battles and only managed to avoid losing his place due to how slow it was,"

Vali grinned at him, "Poor kid," She shook her head, "Must be aiming to get an easy gym badge, he should've gone for Surge."

"He did," Jackson said earning a surprised look and Vali quickly moved over to look at the kid's page, "See? He won his first badge against Surge and his second against Sabrina,"

Vali promptly started to laugh, "Kid's going to get his ass kicked by Pewter and Cerulean. They ain't going to be messing around especially once they saw what he did."

"Nope and if he's late again..." Jackson trailed off earning a grin, "Too bad for his pokemon, he might be an intelligent kid if he's managed to get past Sabrina for a second badge, but still,"

Vali shook her head, "Kid's going to suffer come the Conference. Smarts will only get you so far."

Jackson chuckled as he sent the information off to Blaine. Vali looked over the battles scheduled for the next couple of days with a slight smile. When the door open, she looked up to find Stella walking inside. Giving the blonde a surprised look, she sat up a bit straighter as Jackson asked, "Here for a gym battle, miss?"

"No, I'm actually here to see Vali," Stella said as she smiled brightly with a Pachirisu on her shoulder, "Mind if I steal her for a bit?"

"Not really, it's about time for her break anyway," Jackson replied with a shrug as Vali slowly stood up with Eevee jumping down from his position on the desk and Aragorn got up from the ground, "Just make sure you're back in an hour, Vali,"

"Sure thing, Jackson," Vali told him as she walked around the desk towards Stella, "I can do that,"

Stella held open the door and they walked outside. Sunlight immediately began to beat down on them, Vali perked up at the feeling of it. Stella spoke as they began walking down the walkway towards the town, "So, how have you been since it all happened?"

"It's been rough," Vali answered with a slight sigh, "Going through therapy isn't easy, I'm regaining some of my flexibility, but it feels slow," She looked at Stella curiously, "How have you been?"

"Busy as hell. The base practically exploded like a Beedrill hive," Stella looked exhausted, "Leagues' been running us ragged trying to catch more poachers and dealing with any other larger operations we come across,"

Vali nodded in understanding, "Sounds like things have been hard on both of us."

"Yeah," Stella smiled slightly, "I'm glad things have been alright other than that,"

Vali remember something Delia had mentioned, "Oh yeah, the print you wanted? Delia said you could pick it up at any time."

"Awesome," Stella grinned at that, "I'd forgotten about it," She stopped suddenly and looked around them at the island, "Huh, ya know? I forgot how pretty Cinnabar was. If you ignore the tourists and all that, it's an awesome place,"

"It is," Vali enjoyed the nights especially, "I love spending time just soaking up the heat,"

Stella snorted, "Fire-type master-in-training indeed."

Steven looked at Vali's latest texts about her therapy and general things from being Blaine's student. Glancing upward, he spotted his father walking towards him. Putting away his pokenav, he asked, "Everything going well, Father?"

"Yes, Steven," Joseph looked pleased, "Very well indeed," He looked at Steven curiously, "Talking to Vali?"

"A bit," Steven replied as they began walking down the hall towards the buildings exit, "Blaine's working her pretty hard, but she seems to be enjoying it," A small smile formed on his face, "Therapy is going well too, but though she's been struggling quite a bit at certain points,"

Steven still couldn't believe that Vali was dealing with this. He knew that she hadn't told him everything and that the League had probably forced her into secrecy. The small frowns and and slightly guilty look in Vali's eyes sometimes when they spoke that told him everything he needed to know. He wouldn't press her. What right did he have to press her? He inwardly sighed while pushing those thoughts away. Joseph nodded in understanding, "I do hope she continues to improve."

With a small chuckle, Steven nodded lightly, "Yeah," He remember something Vali had mentioned something, "By the way, Vali's business has really started to pick up. Would you like to check out the pictures she's been taking recently? She told me that she'd send a print of whatever one we'd liked best. No payment necessary."

"That's thoughtful of her," Joseph hummed thoughtfully, "Though she honestly should ask for some form of payment even if its at a discounted price,"

"She refused my attempt to say anything about it," Steven shook his head, "She can be so stubborn sometimes," They walked into an elevator and he pushed the button for the bottom floor, "Has any progress been made on the request I made back during the Conference?"

"It's been slow," Joseph sighed deeply, "Kalos has been very difficult to negotiate with so far. It shouldn't be too much longer until I manage to get my hands on one of their closely guarded fossils. Then we'll begin the process of reviving it,"

Steven grinned at that, "That's amazing, I'm so sorry it's been so difficult so far."

"It's alright, Son," Joseph offered him a light smile, "The challenge is nice and to be expected given we're attempting to get a very rare fossil from a country that isn't exactly the most warm to the world even if that's slowly starting to change with it's current champion's work," Joseph's smile dropped, "But even once we this fossil, it will be a difficult revival process. Unlike with Cradily, Armaldo, and the Kanto fossil pokemon, we do not have the base combination types to make the process much easier,"

"I know, Father," Steven looked at his father in determination, "But that's part of why this is exciting, I know our team will appreciate the experience and they're skilled enough to do it. It's not like Vali's expecting me to present her with an Amaura within a month or two. She has no idea I've even thought about getting her one,"

Joseph chuckled in amusement with a shake of his head, "I suppose this little one is going to be a gift for when she finishes her apprenticeship?"

"Since it will likely take that long, yes," Steven nodded his head as he thought of Vali's face when he finally handed her the pokeball, "It'll hopefully convince her to spend some time in Hoenn,"

Joseph patted his back as the elevator dinged and the doors opened, "Ah, to be young again. Vali will love it."