Lecture's Pt. 2

Vali found herself in the same lecture hall that Steven had spoken in an hour ago. A small crowd of kids under the age of ten and a few adults were gathered in the room. Grace nodded to her once everyone had gotten settled. She took a deep breath as anxiety built up in her stomach, "Hello, Everyone. My name is Vali and I'm going to be telling you about what it's like being a trainer. I'm from Pallet town which means I've had to travel to Viridian City, Viridian Forest, Pewter City, and Mount Moon to get here. I'm ten years old and began my journey a day after my birthday which is on July 31st. Any questions so far?"

It was silent with the kids biting their bottom lips and shifting around. One of the adults raised their hand and she pointed to him. He asked, "Which pokemon did you start with?"

"I started with a Charmander that has recently evolved into a Charmeleon," Vali answered earning a few wide eyed looks and eager whispers exploded from the kids, "I was also given a Growlithe by Professor Oak. The reason being is that Growlithe did not have a trainer and has been very close to me for almost two years after my first visit to the lab. Both of them have nicknames which are Smaug for the Charmeleon and Balto for the Growlithe,"

One of the kids raised their hand and she pointed to her, "Can we see them, Miss Vali?"

"Sure. What's your name, Sweetie?" Vali asked as she took Smaug and Balto's pokeballs from her waist.

"Holly," The girl flushed lightly.

"Well, Holly, I would like to introduce you to my friends," Vali threw the balls up into the air, "Come on out my friends! Someone wants to meet you!"

Smaug appeared with a roar and Balto appeared with a bark. Both landed beside her as she caught their pokeballs, Smaug spat out a burst of embers towards the stone floor while Balto shook himself out. She bent down to rub between Balto's ears while wrapping an arm around Smaug's shoulders. One of the kids whispered, "So cool!"

Vali smiled at them as she stood up, "Smaug is my official starter pokemon, but Balto is the leader of my team. Can anyone tell me why that would be?" One of the kids raised his hand, "And your name, Sweetie?"

"Travis!" The boy puffed up his chest, "And is it because Balto is a male Growlithe?"

"No, but good guess," Vali said with a smile, "Smaug's a male of the Charmander-line which means he would usually participate in the struggle to become the leader of his territory. Now does anyone else have an answer?"

She pointed to one of the girls that raised her hand. The girl grinned, "I'm Iris! Is it because Balto is the elder pokemon?"

"Somewhat, but there's a bit more to it," Vali rubbed the area just under Smaug's horn-like protrusion, "In the wild, Smaug would challenge everyone he could until he ended up beaten down or won the right to lead. It wouldn't matter if he was challenging his elders or not. If they stood in the way of him becoming the leader, he would fight them,"

A boy raised his hand and she pointed to him, "I'm Ben. Is it because Balto has known you the longest?"

"Exactly right," Ben grinned and he was congratulated by his fellows, "First pokemon whether it's your starter or the first one you ever meet, will always end up the leaders of your pokemon unless they're too weak to be the leader. Of course, there will be battles between your pokemon to figure out where they stand and the position of leader can change. In the case of Balto, he asserted his dominance over all the pokemon I have and ensured that they understand that he's the leader. Smaug will listen to Balto without a problem though when he evolves into his final form, he might attempt to take dominance," Vali looked at each of the children and saw the confusion on their faces, "Pokemon change when they evolve. Sometimes, the pokemon won't change much personality wise when they evolve. In other cases, they will have a major change. In the case of the Sandshrew-line, they lose a majority of their timid nature and become fierce battlers. In the male side of the Nidoran-line, they become incredibly aggressive though that is mostly due to the pain they feel upon evolution. Evolution will sometimes be extremely painful for the pokemon that's evolving due to their bodies changing rapidly and taking on an almost completely diffrent form,"

One of the kids raised their hand and she pointed at them, "My name is Mika. Is that why sometimes trainers get hurt by their own pokemon even if they've known each other for years?"

"Yes," Vali nodded lightly as Balto laid down at her feet and Smaug settled down beside him with his tail in his lap, "Sometimes, it can be a training accident or the pokemon accidentally hurting them in anger due to the trainer getting too close to them after evolution. In other cases, the pokemon loses all respect for their trainer for whatever reason. Many times, the pokemon will simply disappear as is the case with the Pidgey-line," Vali saw a few of the kids look surprised, "Pokemon tend to avoid hurting others especially humans if there is no need for it. One thing that will be stressed in the months before you go on your journey is to avoid getting close to your pokemon when they evolve. Some pokemon will be completely fine while others will be in a lot of pain. Wait to approach until either they allow it or they approach you. Keep your voice as steady as possible even if you're really excited, it'll soothe the pokemon's nerves and help them center themselves. In the case of bird pokemon, you need to lock eyes with them and keep your gaze steady while trying not to blink. It's a bit hard, my Pidgey recently evolved into a Pidgeotto and I had to lock gazes with her until she regained her respect for me again," Vali fiddled with Celina's ball, "My advice is to practice by having staring contests,"

Vali pointed to the next kid to raise their hand, "Devin. How come two of your pokemon have a nickname and one doesn't?"

"My Pidgeotto does have a nickname though she didn't want one while she was still a Pidgey," Vali corrected as she felt Celina's ball warm in her hand, "You can't force a pokemon to accept a nickname especially when said pokemon is recently caught. Ask them if they want a nickname or not. Two of my pokemon don't have a nickname at the moment. One is a Pikachu and the other is a Sandshrew. I haven't gotten around to asking my Pikachu if he wanted a name now or not. Sandshrew on the other hand is a bit too young though I will be asking her if she wants one soon enough,"

Vali picked the next kid, "What's your dream?"

"I didn't have a dream when I became a pokemon trainer other than to find pokemon that would become like my family," Vali looked down at Balto and Smaug seeing them stare at her in adoration, "It wasn't until my traveling companion reminded me that I could catch any pokemon I wanted and still become a master. My dream now is to become a fire-type master,"

"Like Blaine?" One of the kids asked earning a nod, "But isn't that hard?"

"It will be a lot of hard work, but that will make it worth it in the end," Vali pointed to Smaug and Balto, "I've already got a good start with two fire-types,"

"You said that you wanted to find pokemon to become like your family. How is that possible?" Ben asked with a frown.

Vali looked at the kids as they peered at her with curious eyes, "During your journey, you'll experience a lot of things that will make or break you. You will not be experiencing them alone as your pokemon will be beside you. It is because of those experiences that you will gain an unbreakable bond with your pokemon and end up seeing them as your family," She paused to gather her thoughts, "Think of it this way," She met each of the kid's eyes before focusing on Ben, "Your pokemon will see you at your best and your worst. They will smell and see your fear, your joy, your anger, your amusement, and everything else. You will take care of them, nurture them, train them, see them at their best, and see them at their worst. They will take care of you, guard you, help you up when you fall, and do their best to ensure you survive. For what might be week or months on end, they will be the only constant non-hostile contact you will have. Because of that, you will come to see them as your greatest allies, closest friends, and a family that will never willingly leave you. That, Ben, is how pokemon can become like your family."