Late night and morning talks

"What are you still doing up?" Steven asked Vali and felt a little bad when she jumped a bit.

A clatter sounded and Steven winced knowing her dex had hit the ground though it had definitely suffered worse during their journey together. The worst being that Smaug stepping on it after evolving somehow managing not to break it. The amount of scratches and divots in the surface of the dex spoke of just how rough its journey had been. Vali's head snapped towards him as her hand went to her chest. She about hissed, "Steven, don't scare me like that! You could have given me a heart attack."

"My apologies," Steven told her as he moved further into the room, "I didn't mean to startle you so badly, but normally one of your pokemon would've alerted you to my presence,"

Vali's hand dropped and she bent down to pick up her dex, "Everyone save for Houndour and Litwick is fast asleep. They're all very tired from training and battling so hard recently," She smiled a little as she scooped up the scarred metal device and sat up to look at him, "Houndour and Litwick are playing outside for the moment. I'm giving them another thirty minutes before calling them inside."

"I see," Steven glanced outside and caught sight of Houndour rushing past cashing after a Will-o-Wisp making him smile softly, "So what are you doing up? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I wanted to get some research and strategizing in," Vali held up her dex and he could see her pokenav sitting on the table, "I'm just trying to be prepared, ya know," She looked at him curiously, "What about you?"

"Some paperwork that came up and strategizing as well," Steven smiled a bit, "It seems great minds think alike. I came out here to get some water," He headed towards the kitchen, "Would you like something to drink?"

"Some water," Vali replied as she rubbed her eyes.

Steven got them both some water and handed it to her, "Here you are, Vali. I'm going to head back into my room. Try to get some rest a some point tonight, alright?"

Vali hesitated for a moment before nodding and offering him a light smile. He headed towards his room, but only made it halfway there when she spoke up, "Actually, Steven, would you like to stay out here with me? Just to keep each other company?"

Steven smiled at her request and nodded as he turned his head towards her, "Sure, it's better than sitting in my room alone. I just need to grab a few things."

Vali was used to waking up in a slightly uncomfortable position due to her pokemon moving around her during the night though it was slowly becoming more comfortable as the days passed by. Waking up pressed against the couch with an arm pinned underneath her side and her foot trapped beneath Houndour wasn't comfortable in the least, she definitely didn't enjoy the crick in her neck created from the awkward way she was laying despite the warm from pressed against her back and the arm curled around her. Jerking slightly in alarm, she opened her eyes and found the familiar sight of the cottage's couch greeting her causing some of the alarm to fade. A soft groan sounded from behind her followed by a strong rush of air at the top of her head, she recognized it to be Steven and Elrond's mental voice confirmed it, "You apparently fell asleep on the couch with Steven late last night. It's about time you've woken up. Steven is not far behind."

"I see," Vali had enjoyed spending the night just enjoying Steven's company as it had reminded her of their time traveling together.

Elrond sensed her thoughts and emotions takings a melancholic turn. He let out a mental sigh, "Dear one, I have spoken and so have the rest of our odd Pack-Family. In the end, the decision will come only at the end of the tournament. For now enjoy what time you may have left together, it's my only suggestion."

Vali smiled feeling her melancholy lift and she carefully sat up making sure not to disturb Steven too much though it was difficult. Extracting herself from the couch took some help from Elrond, she hugged the Alolan-Raichu gently and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "You've grown from the untrusting Pikachu that only wanted to run away and fry any humans that he encountered save for Nurse Joys. I'm proud to have you as one of my partners and the one that shares my mind most frequently."

Elrond gave a mental snort, but nuzzled her lightly in return, "And you've grown as well, Dear one. You've grown from that skinny little brat that surprised me with that mutt back in the little forest path I'd been abandoned on."

The two of them let out soft laughs and pressed their foreheads together. Vali spoke softly, "No matter what happens, I'm glad that I managed to win you over, Elrond. I'm glad each of my pokemon chose me in the end and we ended up becoming our pack."

"As are we," Elrond murmured and Vali could feel pieces of the others lingering within his mental voice.

Vali pulled away from Elrond and moved towards the kitchen as she heard a door open. Lance entered the kitchen not long after, "Mornin', Vali."

"Morning, Lance," Vali started their breakfast, "Mind getting the pokemon food ready? I've got our breakfast covered,"

"Sure," Lance headed towards the cupboards, "So you were up late last night,"

Vali froze for a minute before continuing what she was doing, "I was working on some last minute strategies and research for my upcoming battle," She glanced at him, "Why?"

"No reason," Lance smiled lightly as he cut up some fresh berries, "I had been planning on joining you until Steven did. I guess you've made a decision regarding going to Hoenn with him?"

Vali shook her head wondering where the bizarre idea came from, "No, I haven't. Last night reminded me of the good times back when we traveled together, I will admit that, but it doesn't mean I'll go to Hoenn with him. Going and seeing Hoenn with Steven would be amazing, I will admit that especially since I really missed seeing Steven while training for the Conference," She admitted to the red head moving to grab some new ingredients for their breakfast, "The idea of meeting new pokemon and seeing so many new things. I can't imagine how many pictures I'd be able to take over there. I'd be able to battle new pokemon, new people, new styles, and try out contests which is something Litwick wants. There are so many reasons to go with Steven, I really want to travel with him, Lance."

"I'm sensing a 'but' in there," Lance glanced at her and she sighed deeply.

Tossing some cut up ingredients into the pan in front of her, Vali looked out of the window towards the stadium in the distance, "For one, the whole thing with Blaine. My dream of becoming a Fire-type master would be helped by him since he'd help my pokemon reach new heights of power and we'd probably find a Magby since Cinnabar has Magmar on it meaning our pack would be expanded. I've never been far from Kanto, Lance, outside of coming here with Sirius and a part of me wonders what will happen if I go too far away as stupid as it may sound," She didn't voice her thoughts about the Lord of Flames, "I don't want to miss out on Ash and Gary growing up like Daisy Oak has. I want to be here when Sirius marries Delia. But the biggest thing is, I want to see how far my pack will grow without being around Steven," She hated to admit it even if it was to Lance, "Being around Steven and you constantly shows us that we've got a long way to grow, we're suddenly facing other people that haven't been around you guys and the difference is noticeable. I just..."

Vali trailed off feeling uncertain about what to say. Lance understood though and picked it up with ease, "You're suddenly noticing that we do have a shadow and you've been under it even if you have shown through," She nodded with a relieved smile, "I get it and Steven will too when you explain this to him. No matter what you do, he'll understand."

"I know," Vali did and was thankful for it, "Even if that doesn't make it any easier, it's going to hurt if I don't travel with him,"

"Hurt?" Lance looked at her in surprise, "What do you mean?"

Vali looked at the food she was making, "Back when we parted in Viridian because Steven had to go to Mount Moon for the dig, it hurt knowing we wouldn't see each other until the Conference even if we'd be able to talk on the phone. This time, it'll hurt worse since we won't see each other for longer. We'll probably be a lot busier too depending on what happens. We'll be an ocean away too," She swallowed heavily at the tightness in her throat and ignored the slight stinging sensation developing in her eyes knowing that there was nothing to be done about it now, "But its for the best that we deal with it now then later, isn't it? I mean it's not like the future is set in stone, but Steven's set on becoming Hoenn's Champion. I'm not going to be staying in Hoenn though and I'll probably end up traveling a lot especially if I become a popular photographer even if it won't be my main thing. I just have to learn how to deal with it and this will be the best place to star-"

Vali cut herself off with a slight jerk as someone hugged her from behind. Lance spoke up with his voice coming from above her head revealing that he was the one hugging her making the tense fire-type master-in-training relax a bit, "Vali, no one is saying that this is an easy decision and I'm betting that Steven's regretting making the offer just a little bit right now if only because it's stressing you out so much. Just take a breath and relax, you're not making any decisions right now save for what we're eating for breakfast and how to help your pokemon relax today, okay?"

It took a few moments before Vali let herself relax into Lance's hold and take a deep breath, "Okay."

Lance was quiet for a few moments as Elrond floated into the kitchen and took over cooking and preparing the pokemon food for them. Vali eventually pulled away from Lance to take over from Elrond and the red head spoke up, "Vali, I'm always here to talk, you know? I don't mean it because you're going to be one of my Elite Four eventually either," He looked at her with a serious expression, "I care about you because you're one of my friends. Seeing you troubled is something that unsettles me greatly, I wish to help you in any way possible if it means ensuring that your troubles are eased. So please come to me even if you're unsure if its a good time to bother me, I'd do anything for my friends," Vali nodded slowly and Lance's familiar grin returned, "Good, I'll go wake up our sleeping beauty and see to it our pokemon follow him since its about time they get up since Elrond seems to have taken over for me."

"Okay," Vali paused a bit before calling out to Lance as he reached the entrance to the kitchen, "Lance?" He turned his head, "Thank you for both the conversation and the offer, I really appreciate,"

"It's no problem, Vali," Lance's grin softened into a smile, "I'm sure you'd do the same for me,"

"I would," Vali would in a heart beat for any of her friends, "And I'm giving you the same offer, Lance,"

"Good to know," Lance nodded to her before resuming his path towards the living room meaning he knew that Steven had spent the night in there.

Vali flushed slightly at the implications and realized that there might be blackmail photos lurking around now even if there wasn't anything to be ashamed of. Shaking her head slightly as she decided it didn't matter, she focused on the matter at hand and worked on getting breakfast ready.